She's Yours Again
by FinchelFan728
Summary: Finn and Rachel had a daughter their senior year of high school, but gave her up when they felt they couldn't take care of her. They missed her every day and eventually had three more children. Nine years later, they become her guardians when she loses her adoptive parents. Will they be able to bond with her? Crossover between the Emma Hudson and Barely Breathing/Their GoldStar.
1. Chapter 1: She's Yours

_Hey everyone! This is a story idea I've had since I finished Barely Breathing and wasn't ready to part with Allie, but at the same time, I wasn't ready to part with Emma (and Ryan and Sarah) either. I wished there was a way to make Allie part of that family, and this idea was born._

_So, this story is like a crossover between Allie's world and Emma's world. In this story, Allie was born Finn and Rachel's senior year of high school, because in the other stories, they'd be too close in age if she was born their first year of college. So, at the beginning of the story, Allie is nine and has spent the last nine years with her adoptive parents. The Hudson family still lives in University Heights, Ohio (a suburb of Cleveland). Ryan and Emma are seven and in second grade at Cambridge Elementary, and Sarah is three. Jack is not in this story, because I thought putting him in would be too depressing thinking about what happens in Keep Holding On. Other gleeks and their kids will appear at other points._

_Hope you enjoy the first chapter and review if you want me to continue!_

Chapter 1: She's Yours

"Okay, all three of them are asleep," Rachel said as she came into her and Finn's room. Finn and Rachel had just checked on their three children. Today had been a pretty busy day. The family had driven from their home in Cleveland to visit Rachel's dads and Finn's parents in Lima for the day. Finn and Rachel didn't expect their kids to have as much trouble falling asleep tonight as they had, but the grandparents had given them a lot of sugar, so the kids were being a little hyper.

"Rachel?" Finn asked softly. "Do you still think about her?"

Rachel paused. She knew who Finn was talking about. As much as they loved their son, seven-year-old Ryan, and their two daughters, seven-year-old Emma and three-year-old Sarah, not a day went by when Rachel didn't think about their other daughter.

She didn't even know their other daughter's name, or where she was now. The summer before their senior year of high school, Finn and Rachel had sex and used protection, but they ended up being the one in a million when the protection didn't work. Rachel found out she was pregnant a week before they began their senior year. She and Finn went back and forth throughout the nine months about whether not they wanted to keep their baby, but ultimately decided that they couldn't give their baby what they needed right now.

Since they'd seen how hard it was for Puck and Quinn to see Beth being brought up by another family, they decided to have a closed adoption. The day their daughter was born, Finn and Rachel had spent a few minutes with her before the nurses took her away for the adoption agency to give her to her adoptive parents. They did give the adoption agency their names and contact information in case the adoptive parents ever felt they should know anything about their daughter, but it had been nine years, and they didn't even know what the adoptive parents had named her.

Giving up their daughter had been the hardest thing Finn and Rachel had ever done. They'd both ended up having to go on anti-depressants. They tried to have a normal stable senior year, but the only times they could really feel happy were their dates and at Glee practice. They both managed to graduate with striaght As and gotten scholarships to colleges, but something was always missing. At their wedding the summer after their first year of college, they wished more than anything that their little girl was with them.

When they were sophomores in college, history repeated itself. Rachel got pregnant again, this time with twins, a boy and a girl. Even though they knew it would be hard, Finn and Rachel decided this time they'd keep their babies. They couldn't go through the pain of losing children again. On April 16, 2014, they were the parents of Ryan Nicholas Hudson and Emma Grace Hudson. Raising two children in college had been a challenge, but their kids made them happier than they ever could have imagined. Finn and Rachel graduated from Ohio State University summa cum laude, and they were offered jobs in a school district near Cleveland shortly after they graduated. On February 19, 2018, Sarah Elizabeth Hudson joined the family.

"I do, every day," Rachel said. "I love our kids, but I'm always wondering where she is and what she's doing."

"Yeah, so do I," Finn said. "I'd like to meet her, know her name or some things about her. Where she lives, what she likes, stuff like that."

"Yeah, me too," Rachel said. "Maybe one day we should tell Ryan, Emma and Sarah about her."

"They are still young," Finn said. "I do feel guilty for not telling them though."

"I don't think they'd really understand," Rachel said. "Ryan and Emma might a little, Sarah would just be confused."

Before anyone else had a chance to say anything, the telephone rang. Rachel looked at it. It was a Columbus area code, and she hadn't really known anyone there since her OSU days, but she answered the phone anyway. "Hello?"

"Is this Rachel Hudson?"

"Yes," Rachel said.

"Well, I'm from the Columbus Child Protective Services and I'm calling about your daughter," the voice said. "You had a daughter about nine years ago and gave her up for adoption, correct?"

Rachel felt confused. "Yes, that's correct."

"Well, your daughter's adoptive parents died in a car accident three days ago," the voice on the other end of the phone said. "They said in their will that if anything happened to them, they wanted her birth parents to be given custody of her. We've been trying to find where you are now to contact you."

Rachel didn't know what to say. She felt horrible for her daughter and overwhelmed by the whole situation. "We love her, we always have, but we don't know anything about her..." Rachel managed to say.

"Both her adoptive parents were orphaned and had no siblings," the person continued.

"Well... what's her name?" Rachel asked as Finn gave her a confused look. "Has she been living in Columbus these past nine years?"

"Her name is Alexandra Faith Cummings, she goes by Allie," the voice said. "And yes, she's been in Columbus. She's been staying with a friend while we searched for you."

Finn gave Rachel a confused look. Rachel put the phone on speaker so Finn could hear. "Did she know about us?" Rachel asked.

"She didn't even know that she was adopted until we told her," the representative said. "It's a lot to take in."

"Oh my God," Rachel said. She didn't know what else to say.

"We are going to need to do a background check on you two," the representative continued. "She will stay with her friends down there until the background check is completed, but after that, she's going to live with you two. Her adoptive parents said in their will that they'd been trying to get in contact with you two for a few years, but couldn't track you down. They really wanted you two to be a part of her life."

Rachel felt tears coming to her eyes. She'd always wondered about her daughter. Allie. She had a name, and now Rachel knew it. But she'd missed nine years of Allie's life. There were nine years to catch up on. In addition, they had to explain everything to Ryan, Emma and Sarah.

And then there was Allie. She'd lost her parents at the tender age of nine and had no idea this was coming. Even though losing someone you loved to old age or a terminal illness would be sad, you would at least have time to prepare yourself for the possibility. Allie was in no way ready to prepare herself for her parents' death.

In the eyes of the law, and most likely in Allie's eyes as well, Finn and Rachel were complete strangers to Allie. They'd given up all rights to her the day the adoption agency gave her away. Allie had spent nine years with another man and woman. This man and woman were her parents in every way but birth. They'd bought her things, fed her, taken her to school, taught her how to walk and been there for her in hard times. Finn and Rachel hadn't done any of those things.

"Would it be possible to do the background check in Columbus?" Finn finally asked. "We'd really like to meet her before she comes to live with us."

"Of course," the voice on the phone said. "Tomorrow morning though, we will be sending people to inspect your house and to talk to your family members and friends."

"We understand," Finn said.

"Where was Allie when it happened?" Rachel managed to say.

"She was at school," the voice continued.

Rachel let Finn take over on the phone as they made arrangements for the background check and to come meet Allie. She could barely process all her thoughts. As sad as she was for Allie, she was at the same time happy that her little girl was coming back into her life.

x

"How should we tell them?" Finn asked. It was the next morning. Finn and Rachel had barely slept the previous night. They'd done all the paperwork necessary online that they could do, as well as sending reference forms to friends and family members. They'd also called their work places to explain the situation and that they wouldn't be in for a few days so they could get to know Allie and eventually help her get settled in.

"Maybe they should have known from the beginning," Rachel sighed.

"They're little, Rach," Finn said. "We probably would have told them once they got older, but they wouldn't really have understood the situation."

"Well, we have to tell them," Rachel said. "She's going to be living with us."

"Why aren't we going to school today?" Ryan asked as he, Emma and Sarah came downstairs.

"Yeah, it's 8:45," Emma added.

Rachel sighed and looked at Finn. "We actually have something to talk to you three about."

"Are we in trouble?" Sarah asked.

"Of course not," Finn said softly. "Your mommy and I have never told you, but you have another sister."

"That's cool!" Sarah said excitedly.

"Why doesn't she live here though?" Emma asked, looking confused.

"I wish it was another brother instead," Ryan said.

"Well, you guys are a little young to understand everything," Rachel said. "I don't really know how to tell you guys this, and neither does your dad. She was born before Ryan and Emma were born. We didn't think we could take care of her when she was born, so we gave her to another family. But last night we got a phone call. Her other parents died, and she's going to come live with us."

All three kids looked confused. Rachel didn't know what she was doing. This was enough of a shock for her and Finn. Of course, it would probably be even harder to support Allie in this hard time and be there for her.

"When's she coming?" Sarah asked.

"We're going to meet her today," Finn said.

"What's her name?" Ryan asked.

"Allie," Rachel said.

"Why didn't you tell us about her?" Emma asked.

"We didn't really know how," Finn said. "We would have waited until you were older and could understand the situation. But things have changed."

The family was quiet for a few moments before Emma spoke. "Where's she going to sleep? We don't have an extra room."

Rachel sighed. This would likely cause resentment between the three girls, but it was the best solution she and Finn could come up with. "Emma, you'll move into Sarah's room and she'll have your room. We're going to look for a bigger house where all four of you get your own rooms."

Both girls looked rather upset. "Guys, please be nice to her when she gets here. She is your sister. And she just lost her parents."

"But you're her parents, too," Ryan said.

"Allie's not going to think of us that way yet," Finn said. "There's a biological connection, and that's it." They really had no idea how they were going to do this, but they told the kids they'd talk in the car on the way down to Columbus.

_Chapter 2 preview: Finn, Rachel, Ryan, Emma and Sarah meet Allie for the first time and take her back to Cleveland._


	2. Chapter 2: After All These Years

_Thanks so much for the positive reception to the first chapter! I've had this idea in the back of my mind for a while, so I'm glad that people are enjoying it. People have asked if Nick and Ava will show up. Obviously everyone's too young for Nicma and Ryva couple moments, but Nick and Ava will be in this story. I know they went to different elementary schools in the other series, but hey, this is a different universe. Hope you enjoy this chapter and review if you want me to continue!_

_Oh, and other Glee couples will eventually be coming to meet Allie and help Finn and Rachel in the process. So, what couples would you like to see?_

Chapter 2: After All These Years

"Be nice to her," Finn said to Ryan, Emma and Sarah as they pulled into the parking lot of the place they'd be meeting Allie. "I know none of you were expecting this, but it's going to be really hard for her."

"We are nice," Emma said.

"What he means, Emma, is no pouting about having to give up your room," Rachel told her daughter. Emma was less than thrilled about having to share a room with Sarah, but it was temporary.

The family walked in and were greeted in the lobby. "You're the Hudson family?" the receptionist asked.

"Yes," Finn said.

"They're waiting for you in the first door on the right," the receptionist said. Finn, Rachel, Ryan, Emma and Sarah continued down the hall and into the room.

Rachel didn't know what to say when she walked in. She looked at the little girl in the room. She almost felt like she was seeing a reincarnation of her nine-year-old self. The only difference was that Allie's hair was closer to Finn's color and texture. Rachel felt tears coming to her eyes. After all these years, she was finally seeing the first child who came out of her body. She so badly wanted to hug Allie, but she knew things like that were up to Allie herself. Rachel wanted to say something, but she didn't know what to say. She hoped Finn would say something, but he was being silent as well. Even Ryan, Emma and Sarah were quiet.

Two child protective services representatives were also in the room. One of them was the first to speak. "Mr. and Mrs. Hudson, this is Allie. Allie, this is Finn and Rachel Hudson and their other children, Ryan, Emma and Sarah."

Rachel gave Allie a small smile which the little girl didn't return. She looked like she hadn't slept in a while, and she also looked like she'd been crying recently. Finally, Allie spoke. "So, you're my birth parents?"

"Yes, we are," Rachel said. "We're very sorry about what happened to your mom and dad."

Allie gave them a nod and was staring at the other kids. "I'm Sarah, I'm three," Sarah said.

"I'm Allie, I'm nine," Sarah said.

"I know," Sarah said. "My mommy and daddy told me. Well, our mommy and daddy. You're my sister."

Rachel gave Sarah a look. She knew her youngest daughter was too young to fully understand what was going on.

"Allie, about what Sarah said," Rachel managed to say. "I know we gave birth to you, but we completely understand that you still love your mom and dad. We're your guardians as far as you know. You can just call us by our names if you want. Sarah's only three, so don't get mad at her."

"Okay," Allie said. The room fell silent again. Rachel hated this silence. She didn't know what to do. She wanted to make Allie comfortable, but at the same time, she didn't want to say the wrong thing.

The two child protective services associates were still in the room, and one of them spoke. "So Allie, like we told you, the Hudsons live in Cleveland."

"Yeah, I know," Allie said.

"That's about two and a half hours away, so you could come down here to visit your friends on a weekend sometime," Finn said.

"I know where Cleveland is, Finn," Allie snapped. "My dad took me to an Indians game there over the summer."

Even though Allie had sounded a little rude, at least they'd gotten some information about her background, even if it was something superficial. "I like going to Indians games," Ryan said. "Next time I go you can come to."

"How old are you?" Allie asked Ryan.

"Seven," Ryan said. Allie had a confused look on her face, and Rachel had a feeling it had something to do with the fact that Ryan was so close in age with her. She was probably wondering why Finn and Rachel had kept Ryan (and Emma), but given her up.

"You will go to the same school as Ryan and me," Emma added. "Well, we're in second grade and you'll be in fourth, but it's a good school. There's nice kids and nice teachers, and it has a fun playground."

"Do I have to start a new school?" Allie asked.

Rachel sighed. "I'm sorry. Finn and I have jobs in Cleveland, and it would be a lot to drive you down to your school down here every day."

"Is there a bus or something I can take to my school here?" Allie asked.

"I'm afraid not," Finn said.

Allie pouted. "It's a nice school," Emma tried to reassure Allie.

"I don't want to move!" Allie snapped.

"Allie, I'm really sorry about this," Rachel tried.

"Can we just go now?" Allie sighed. "I'm going to have to leave anyway, let's just go now."

Rachel gave Finn a look. She knew this hadn't gone well. True, they hadn't expected it to go well. But she had held on to hope that it would go okay. She remembered how she expected to be able to take off like they'd spent their whole lives together and to feel lots of excitement when she met Shelby for the first time, but instead it felt awkward. Until her parents died, Allie didn't even know that other people had brought her into the world.

"Well... where's your things?" Finn asked.

"We're having them sent to your house," the child protective services agent said. "We do have her most special things with her."

"Okay," Rachel said. "If you want, we can head up to Cleveland now."

"Yeah," Allie said softly. Rachel promised herself to be there in any way she could for Allie, but at the same time, she didn't know how to do this.

They walked to their minivan and put Allie's suitcases in the trunk. The drive from Columbus to Cleveland was almost completely silent. When they were driving through downtown Cleveland, Allie finally spoke. "Is there a room ready for me at your house?"

Rachel gave herself and Finn a mental brownie point for taking care of that this morning. "Yeah, we don't have much stuff in it yet, but we can add some."

"Thank you," Allie said quietly. The rest of the ride home was silent. Finally, they pulled into their suburb, University Heights, and turned down their street. As Finn and Rachel unloaded the trunk, Allie stared at the Hudsons' house.

"Yeah, this is it," Ryan said.

"You guys have a big house," Allie said.

"Not really," Emma said.

Rachel still didn't know what to say. She led the kids inside. "So Allie, we'll show you your room," Finn said.

Allie picked up her suitcase and walked upstairs. The house had passed investigation while they were in Columbus, and they'd recruited some friends to move things around the house. As they walked upstairs, Rachel noticed Allie looking at the photos of Ryan, Emma and Sarah that covered the walls.

Finn, Rachel and Allie went into the bedroom. Allie looked around the room and sat down the bed before looking at Finn and Rachel. "Can I be alone for a little?"

"Of course," Finn said. "We'll be downstairs if you need us."

As they left the room, Rachel looked at Finn. "Do you think she'll open up to us eventually?"

"I think she needs time," Finn whispered back. They went downstairs where their three other kids were playing with their toys. "Why won't she talk to us?" Ryan asked.

"Guys, her parents died, give her time," Finn said.

"But she's our sister," Ryan said. "And you're her parents too."

"She just met us a few hours ago!" Rachel said.

Emma gave her mom a look. "Guys, please," Finn said. "This isn't going to be easy for any of us."

"I would be sad if you two died," Emma admitted.

"So would I," Ryan added.

"Me too," Sarah said.

"Should we go be with her?" Emma asked.

"She wants to be alone," Rachel said.

x

It had been a few hours, and Allie still hadn't left her room. It was getting close to dinner, and Finn and Rachel had gone to the kitchen to start making it. They considered going upstairs to ask Allie what she wanted, but decided it might not be such a good idea to force themselves on her. They decided to make tacos, and were getting started when Allie came into the kitchen. "Look who decided to come down," Finn said.

"I was hungry," Allie said. "Is it okay if I have a snack?"

"You don't need to ask, this is your food too now," Rachel said. "Finn and I are just starting dinner, are tacos okay?"

"Yeah, I like tacos," Allie said.

"Good," Rachel said. Allie went through the refrigerator and got out a few pretzels. She sat in the room eating the pretzels as Finn and Rachel kept making dinner.

"Where do you guys work?" Allie asked after a few minutes. Rachel was surprised Allie was asking them about themselves, but she certainly wasn't going to complain about it.

"We both teach in the school system," Finn said. "Rachel teaches vocal music and is the director of the show choir at the high school, and I teach writing at one of the middle schools."

"Ah," Allie said. She finished the pretzels and left the kitchen.

"She talked to us," Finn said when Allie was gone.

"I know," Rachel said. "That's something, right?"

"Yeah," Finn said. "I do hope she talks to the kids, too."

"Yeah," Rachel also said. "Especially Emma. They're close in age, and they're both girls."

A little while later, Finn and Rachel finished making dinner, and they called the kids down to eat. Dinner was pretty quiet. Usually, Ryan, Emma and Sarah talked a lot at dinner, but they seemed to have caught on that they needed to take things slow.

At the end of dinner, Allie turned to Finn and Rachel. "Do I have to go to school tomorrow?"

"Well, not tomorrow, but you will need to go eventually," Rachel said.

"But I don't want to!" Allie moaned.

"Allie..." Rachel began. She wished there was something she could offer Allie, but she didn't know what Allie liked yet, since Allie had been so distant.

Allie didn't give Rachel time to finish. She stormed upstairs and they heard her slam the door. Rachel just threw her arms around Finn.

"It's going to be okay," Finn said. Rachel could tell he was saying that to himself as much as he was to Rachel.

Hand in hand, Finn and Rachel went upstairs and heard quiet crying coming from Allie's room. Ryan, Emma and Sarah followed behind them. Rachel knocked on the door. "Do you want me to come in there?"

Rachel heard more sobbing. "Leave me alone! I want my mom and dad back!"

"Of course you do," Finn said softly.

"I said leave me alone!" Allie shouted.

"Okay," Finn said. "If you need us, please come get us." He shrugged at Rachel. Neither of them knew what to do, other than hope things got better soon.

_Chapter 3: Allie and Emma have a small moment. Finn and Rachel continue trying to bond with Allie. Allie also starts school._


	3. Chapter 3: Cambridge Elementary

_Happy 4th of July, everyone! And THANK YOU so much to the people who nominated me in the Glee fanfic awards. "Barely Breathing" is a finalist for best romance fic AND best drama fic, "Keep Holding On" is a finalist for best tragedy fic, and the Emma Hudson series is a finalist for best family fic. I feel so honored and would really appreciate your votes! I'm also hoping I end up being a finalist for best Finn writer, best Rachel writer, best Finn fics, best Rachel fics, best Finchel fics and best Finchel writer._

_Again, thanks so much for all your support! Hope you enjoy this chapter and review if you want me to continue!_

Chapter 3: Cambridge Elementary

"Allie, time to get up," Finn said softly as he nudged his oldest daughter. He and Rachel had taken three days off of work to help Allie get settled in and hopefully get to know her better, but it hadn't had the results either of them had been hoping for. There had been a few small moments here and there, but most of the time the best they could hope for was her being quiet and distant. At the worst, she would snap at them when they were just trying to be nice.

"I told you, Finn, I don't want to go to school!" Allie shouted.

"I know you don't want to go to school, but Rachel and I have to go to work and we can't leave you here alone all day," Finn said.

"You don't have to go to work," Allie said.

"It would be nice to not have to go to work, but we do have to," Rachel added.

Allie pulled the covers over her head. "Please just get out of bed and get dressed," Rachel sighed. "We have to leave soon."

"NO!" Allie shouted.

Finn looked at Rachel. If Ryan, Emma or Sarah was acting this way, they would yell, but they couldn't yell at Allie. It would just make the situation harder. "You need to get out of bed," Finn said firmly. "I know you're upset about what happened to your parents, but you don't need to be mean to me and Rachel. Maybe school would be a nice distraction."

Allie took the covers off her head. "Fine."

"Would you prefer a packed lunch or a school lunch?" Rachel asked.

"Pack me one," Allie said.

"We'll do that," Finn said. He didn't comment that Allie hadn't said please.

"I hate how this school makes us wear uniforms," Allie snapped. Yesterday Finn and Rachel had taken Allie to be fitted for her uniform, and it had been a disaster. Allie had been rude to the people at the district uniform office.

"Well, we're not the ones who decided that this school district requires uniforms," Finn said.

"Do the kids at the middle school and the high school hate the uniforms, too?" Allie asked as she pulled out the white blouse and dark green, navy and red jumper the elementary school girls in the Cleveland Heights- University Heights district had to wear.

More progress. Even if it was a simple question, it was something. "Yeah, at the middle school the girls wear the same polo as you guys, and they also wear plaid skirts that are lighter than yours."

"The high school girls wear the same polo as you guys too," Rachel said. "Only they wear solid navy, dark green or khaki skirts."

"I just wish we didn't have a uniform," Allie snapped.

"I know," Finn said. "We'll be downstairs." He and Rachel needed to get to work at the scheduled teacher arrival time and drop Sarah off at preschool. They walked downstairs hand in hand, hoping Allie wouldn't give them a hard time.

"She likes pretzels, I remember that," Rachel said as she put pretzels in a lunch bag for Allie. "Remember any other foods she likes?"

Finn thought for a minute. "She seemed to like the mini oranges we had at lunch yesterday, too."

Rachel nodded and put a few more of the oranges in the lunch bag. "And she also likes chocolate," Rachel said as she put in a chocolate bar. "I know we don't like giving them candy for lunch, but we should pack as much food as she likes."

Finally, Allie came into the kitchen. "Rachel, do you have peanut butter?"

Rachel looked in the cupboard. "Yes we do."

"Can you pack a peanut butter sandwich in my lunch?" Allie asked.

"I can do that!" Rachel said with a smile.

"I wish I didn't have to go to school," Allie said. "Everyone's mean to the new kid."

"No one will be mean to you," Rachel said. "If this was a school with mean kids, we wouldn't be sending Ryan and Emma there."

Allie groaned and sat down. A little while later, Finn and Rachel dropped Sarah off at preschool and then dropped Allie, Emma and Ryan off at Cambridge Elementary, in the hopes that the day would go well.

x

"Class, I'd like to introduce our new student, Allie Cummings," the teacher said. Allie sat in the classroom, feeling too scared to say anything. She wished she was at her old school, where she knew everyone. In fact, she almost wished she was back at Finn and Rachel's house. Even though she was hesitant to get to know them because she didn't want to replace her mom and dad, at least she knew that they could be trusted.

"She moved here from Columbus," the teacher continued. "Please do your best to make her feel welcome."

A few of the kids in the class looked at Allie and gave her tentative smiles, but Allie was too scared to say anything. "Anything you want to tell us about yourself?" the teacher asked.

"No," Allie said.

"Okay then," the teacher said. "We're going to start off with going over this week's spelling words. I want everyone to write each word five times."

Allie picked up the pencil and started writing down the words on the board. Maybe Finn and Rachel were right, school could be a distraction.

x

Class in the morning could be a distraction, but then it was time for lunch, and Allie felt her fears building up again. She didn't know who any of these kids were. The school year was underway and everyone already had their own friends. She had friends at her school in Columbus, but so far she barely knew the names of any of the kids at Cambridge Elementary. This was the lunch period for the entire fourth grade, so the other two fourth grade classes were in the cafeteria as well, as were some of the younger kids. She nervously looked around the cafeteria for a place to sit when she heard a voice. "Allie!"

Allie turned and saw Emma with another girl. The other girl had light brown hair that was a little past her shoulders.

"Hi Emma," Allie said. She couldn't help but smile. It was nice to see someone she actually knew. "What are you doing here?"

"Second grade and fourth grade have lunch together," Emma said. "Do you have anywhere to sit?"

"No," Allie admitted.

"Sit with us," Emma said.

"Really?" Allie asked.

"Yeah," Emma said. "This is Ava, my best friend."

"Hi," Allie said.

"Hi," Ava said as the three girls sat down at a table. A few tables down, Allie saw Ryan sitting with a few other boys. As if Ryan knew Allie was looking at him, he smiled at her and waved. Allie then did the same.

The three girls began to eat. Allie had a feeling Ava's parents had told her somehow about what had happened, because Ava didn't ask anything about Allie's parents. After a few minutes of eating, Ava spoke. "You know, Emma's parents are really nice."

"I know," Allie said. She had to admit, Finn and Rachel were pretty nice.

"So, is there anything you did at your old school?" Emma asked.

"I play the viola," Allie said. She had secretly been hoping that there was an orchestra at this school.

"We have an orchestra," Emma said. "You have to be in third grade to join, so we'll join next year."

"That's cool," Allie said.

"Yeah," Emma said. Allie had wanted a sister for a while, and as sad as she felt about her parents, it was nice to, in a way, have a sister now.

"I heard you don't like our uniform," Emma said.

"My old school didn't have one," Allie said.

"We're the only public schools in the Cleveland area with one," Ava said.

"That's so stupid!" Allie said.

"I know!" Emma said as all three girls laughed. The lunch with Emma and Ava went pretty nice. Unfortunately, the second graders had a different playground than the fourth graders, so Allie was back to being by herself at recess. She just looked around the playground as everyone was doing things with their own friends, missing her friends in Columbus even more.

x

The bell rang at the end of the school day, and Allie couldn't be more relieved. The only really nice part of the day had been lunch with Emma and Ava. Her teacher had been okay, but she'd been too scared to talk to the other kids in her class, and they hadn't talked to her. As she left the building, she saw Rachel standing there with Emma and Sarah as she walked over.

"Hi Allie," Rachel said. "Ready to go home?"

"Where's Ryan?" Allie asked.

"He's going to play with his friend Nick at Nick's house," Rachel said. "How was your day?"

"I'm not sure if I like this school," Allie said. "The bathroom is dirty. We have to wear the uniform and we also have to write in cursive. The playground also isn't as fun as the playground at my old school. It's just all wrong."

"It's not what you're used to," Rachel sighed as she opened the car door.

"I want to go back to my old school," Allie said.

"She sat with me and Ava at lunch," Emma said.

"Oh yeah, I forgot second and fourth grade had lunch together," Rachel said. "Did you two like that?"

"Yeah, Emma's really nice," Allie said. At least she could look forward to that at school.

"Mom, do you think Allie could join the orchestra at school?" Emma asked.

Rachel looked at Allie. "You play an instrument?"

"Yeah, the viola," Allie said.

"I can talk to the orchestra director at your school," Rachel said. "I didn't know you were a musician."

"Yeah," Allie said.

"Mommy and Daddy won big singing competitions when they were in high school!" Emma said.

Allie looked at Rachel. "You did?"

"Yeah," Rachel said. "We were the leads of a choir at our high school that won the National competition."

"That's really cool," Allie said.

"I want to sing on a stage, too!" Sarah said.

"She's already into singing and dancing and performing," Rachel said, pointing to Sarah.

"When Mommy was little, she wanted to be on Broadway," Emma said.

"You did?" Allie asked.

"Yeah, but I'm happier with what I'm doing now," Rachel said. They pulled into the Hudson family's driveway.

x

"So, how was Allie's day?" Finn asked Rachel as he arrived. Rachel didn't teach the last two periods of the day at the high school so she could get home to be with the kids after school until Finn got back, then go back to work with the school's show choir.

"She had some complaints, but she told me she wants to join the orchestra, and she had lunch with Emma and Ava, so those are some small steps," Rachel said.

"She's a musician?" Finn asked.

"Yeah, she plays the viola," Rachel said. "She was complaining about Cambridge after school, but she lightened up a little. She's upstairs with Emma and Sarah now, and Ryan's at Nick's house."

"I'll go check on the girls now," Finn said, giving his wife a kiss. "You have a good practice with the Gold Stars."

"I will," Rachel said. "I love you."

"I love you too," Finn said. "And I love our kids." He smiled to himself. Even though it hadn't been the best circumstances, it felt so good to have all four of their kids living with them.

_Chapter 4 preview: The Hudsons go to Lima for a weekend, where Allie meets Burt, Carole, Hiram and LeRoy. Someone who knows better than anyone what Allie's going through also talks to her. (Hint: it's someone used a lot in fics like this!)_


	4. Chapter 4: Lima

_Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter. They mean a lot to me, especially because I've been getting less reviews lately :( I hope I'm still doing a good job. Anyway, this is a pretty important chapter, I think. Hope you enjoy it and review if you want me to continue._

Chapter 4: Lima

Rachel was picking Sarah up from preschool when she heard her cell phone ring. She looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Quinn. She knew Quinn would understand the situation they were going through, so when she and Sarah got home, she picked up the phone and called Quinn. "Hey."

"Hey Rach, how's it going?" Quinn asked. Quinn and Puck had gotten married a year after college graduation and now lived in Lima with Beth and their two other children, four-year-old Adam and two-year-old Maddie. Quinn was a real estate agent and Puck was assistant football coach and a gym teacher at McKinley. Rachel knew Quinn understood the situation she and Finn were in. Last year, Shelby had died of ovarian cancer and named Puck and Quinn as Beth's guardians.

"Well, you know what the first few weeks are like," Rachel told her friend. Allie would have small conversations with Finn and Rachel here and there, but most of the time she was pretty distant and hesitant. She still would snap at them from time to time. "We've had some small moments here and there. She seems to be bonding most with Emma."

"At least she has Emma," Quinn said.

"Yeah," Rachel said. Allie and Emma would sometimes go into Allie's room to play or talk. Even though Rachel wished that she had that with her daughter, she was glad that there was someone Allie was comfortable with.

"Beth didn't have that when she first came to move in with us," Quinn reminded Rachel. "I know it was hard for you to lose your mom, but at least you had Finn and the kids and your dads to support you. Beth didn't see us as her parents at first."

"Sometimes I get the feeling Allie hates me," Rachel sighed.

"Rachel, I'm sure she doesn't hate you, deep down," Quinn said. "You may think she does, she may think she does, but I'm sure she doesn't."

"You know, she hasn't mentioned us giving her up for adoption," Rachel said. "And she still calls us Rachel and Finn."

"Beth took months to call us Mom and Dad," Quinn said.

"At least she'd met you a few times before Shelby died though," Rachel said. "Allie didn't even know that Finn and I existed before her parents died."

"Maybe you should come here for a weekend and she can talk with Beth," Quinn suggested. "It might help her to talk to someone who's been through the same thing. Plus, it would be nice to see you guys."

"I'll think about that," Rachel said.

"Give me a call if there's anything we can do," Quinn said.

"I will, thanks Quinn," Rachel said as she hung up the phone and went over to Sarah.

"Mommy, can we play?" Sarah asked.

Rachel smiled at her youngest daughter. "Of course we can."

Sarah handed Rachel a piece of paper. "What's this?" Rachel asked.

"It's a picture I made at preschool today," Sarah explained. "That's our family. See, that's you, and that's daddy, and that's me, and that's Ryan, and that's Emma, and that's Allie."

"Wow, I love this," Rachel said, feeling so happy that Sarah had included Allie in the picture. "I'm putting it on the fridge."

"Yay Mommy!" Sarah said.

"I'm so glad you included Allie in the picture," Rachel said.

"Duh," Sarah said. "She's my sister."

Rachel smiled. "That's right."

After Rachel played with Sarah for a little while, Finn, Allie, Emma and Ryan got home. Rachel looked up at her husband and her three oldest children. "How was the day?"

"It was fine," Allie said. Well, hearing that was something.

"Nick's brother fell down the stairs last night and had to get stitches," Ryan announced. "Nick said that there was blood all over their stairs."

Rachel noticed the faces that Allie and Emma were making. "Okay Ryan, I think that story didn't need to be shared. I'm sure Nick's brother was upset."

"Yeah," Ryan said.

"Kids, I need to talk with your dad for a little before I go to Gold Stars practice," Rachel said.

"Finn," Allie said.

Rachel sighed. "Yes."

"What's up?" Finn asked when the kids were upstairs.

"I was talking to Quinn today, and she thinks we should bring Allie to Lima sometime so she can meet Beth," Rachel said. "Beth went through the same thing, true, but meeting even more new people might be too hard for her."

"Well, that could be good for her, and my mom and Burt have been wanting to meet her, but I think you might be right," Finn said.

"I think it's worth a try," Rachel said. "It could help for her to see where we came from."

x

"I wish we were going to Columbus for the weekend instead of Lima," Allie snapped as they got in the car. When Finn and Rachel had suggested it earlier in the week, Allie had simply agreed to it, but now she was protesting.

"Allie, I was thinking I'd take Ryan and Nick to an OSU football game in a few weeks," Finn said. "When I take them, you can come down with us and spend a few hours with your friends there, sound okay?"

"Good," Allie said.

"I want to go see the buckeyes!" Ryan said.

"I just thought of that," Finn mouthed to Rachel.

"Good luck getting tickets," Rachel mouthed back.

In the back seat, Allie turned to Emma. "So, we're visiting some of Finn and Rachel's friends from high school, and Finn's parents and Rachel's dads?"

"Yeah," Emma said. "Lots of people think it's weird that my mom has two dads."

"It's fine," Allie said. "One boy in my class in Columbus had two dads, too."

"Yeah, my dad's brother's married to a boy and they have two kids," Emma said. "And my parents have two friends from high school who are girls, and they're married with two kids too."

"Finn and Rachel are still close to their high school friends, huh?" Allie asked.

"Yeah, they're like my aunts and uncles," Emma said.

"I don't have any aunts and uncles," Allie said.

"You kind of will now," Emma said.

Rachel listened to Allie and Emma's conversation and felt better that Allie hadn't held her grudge about going to Lima. She just hoped Finn would manage to get those tickets to the OSU football game so Allie wouldn't be mad about not going to Columbus.

x

After a bit of driving, the Hudson family pulled up to a house on a small street in Lima. "So this is your friends' house?" Allie asked Rachel.

"Yeah, Uncle Puck and Aunt Quinn," Ryan said. "And Adam, Maddie and Beth."

"They're not really aunt and uncle, just close friends of Rachel and me," Finn said.

"Ah," Allie said as Finn rang the bell. A blond woman and a man with a weird hairstyle answered the door. "Uncle Puck! Aunt Quinn!" Sarah shouted.

"Hey," Puck said as he picked up Sarah.

"It's so good to see you guys!" Quinn said.

"Oh, you too," Finn said.

Puck looked at Allie. "You must be Allie."

"Yeah," Allie said quietly.

"I remember when Finn and Rachel were waiting for you to be born," Quinn said. "It's nice to finally meet you."

Allie didn't know what to say. "Can I go sit down?" she managed to say.

"Of course," Quinn said. "Our kids will be down soon.

Allie went to the Puckermans' dining room when a blond girl who looked a little older than she was came in. "Hi," the girl said. "I'm Beth."

"Hi Beth," Allie said. "I'm Allie."

"I know who you are," Beth said. "My parents told me you were coming. I'm sorry about your parents."

"Thanks," Allie said. She still felt so angry and sad about the loss of her parents.

"How are you doing?" Beth asked.

Allie shrugged. "Okay, I guess."

"I know what this feels like," Beth said.

Allie groaned. "No, you don't."

"Allie, Puck and Quinn are my birth parents but until last year, I lived with my adoptive mom," Beth said. "My adoptive mom died last year. She had cancer and I came to live with Puck and Quinn."

"I'm sorry," Allie said, feeling guilty for being dismissing of Beth.

"I still miss my mom, but I love Puck and Quinn, too," Beth said. "They're my mom and dad, too. Finn and Rachel can be your other parents."

Allie thought about what Beth was saying. "It's okay to miss your mom and dad, but to still love Rachel and Finn. Plus, Ryan, Emma and Sarah are really sweet."

"Yeah, I really like them," Allie said. "I always wanted brothers and sisters."

Beth smiled. "Now you have them."

Rachel and Quinn came in. "Oh, I see you two have met," Rachel said.

"Yeah," Allie said. She felt a little better knowing that someone else had gone through this and seemed okay now.

"It's nice to finally have a cousin close in age," Beth said.

"I bet it is," Rachel said. "Though Ryan and Emma aren't to far off."

"Where are Ryan, Emma and Sarah?" Allie asked.

"I think they're upstairs with Adam and Maddie," Quinn said.

"Want to go meet Adam and Maddie?" Beth asked Allie.

Allie smiled. "Yeah, let's go!"

When the two girls went upstairs, Finn and Puck came upstairs from the basement. "So the girls met?" Finn asked.

"Yeah," Rachel said. "I think things went well."

x

After visiting with the Puckermans, the Hudsons went to Burt and Carole's house for dinner with them and Rachel's dads. Rachel hoped that this would go well, but it had been pretty unpredictable with Allie. Finn rang the bell and his mother came down and embraced her son. "Finn!"

"Hi Mom," Finn said.

"We don't get to see you and Kurt enough," Burt said as he came out.

Carole looked at Allie. "You must be Allie!"

"You're my grandma?" Allie asked as Finn and Rachel exchanged a smile. This was the first time Allie had referred to someone in their family as a family member.

"I am," Carole said. "And this is your grandpa. Your other grandpas are coming over soon."

"I've never had grandparents before," Allie said as they went inside.

"How are things going?" Burt whispered to Finn and Rachel as they went inside.

"They're up and down," Finn whispered back. "Sometimes she argues with us, and sometimes she's pretty calm."

Finn, Rachel, Burt and Carole went into the living room. Sarah had already started playing with some of the toys, and the three older kids were sitting on the couch.

"Does spaghetti sound okay for dinner?" Carole asked the kids.

"Yeah, but I like my spaghetti without sauce," Allie said. "Can you just put oil and cheese on mine?"

"I can do that," Carole said as Rachel's mind flashed back to how angry Allie had been at her when she'd just put tomato sauce on the pasta a few days ago.

"Grandma makes the best food!" Ryan said to Allie.

"So, how do you like Cambridge?" Carole asked Allie.

"I don't like the uniform, but the kids do behave better," Allie said.

"Behave better?" Rachel asked. Allie hadn't mentioned that to her.

"There were some kids in my class in Columbus who always talked when the teachers were talking," Allie said. "No one does that at Cambridge."

"That's good to know," Finn said. They heard a knock at the door and saw Rachel's dads.

"It's so good to see you guys!" LeRoy said as he hugged Finn and Rachel.

"You two," Finn said. He looked at Allie. "Allie, these are Rachel's dads."

"Hi," Allie said. Finn could tell that Allie looked a little overwhelmed. Maybe it was too many new people in one day.

"We brought something," Hiram said, holding up a DVD.

"What's that?" Finn asked.

"It's a DVD from your first Regionals!" LeRoy said. "We thought you'd like to see it."

"It would also be nice for Allie to see it, we thought," Hiram whispered to Rachel.

"What's Regionals?" Allie asked.

"It's a competition that Finn and Rachel would compete in when they were in high school with the glee club," Burt said.

"Glee club is actually how we met each other," Rachel said. "Well, how we really met each other. We sang together a lot there and really bonded."

"Can I see?" Allie asked.

"We'll put it on now," Burt said as he put the DVD in the DVD player. Rachel watched Allie more than the DVD as she heard a sixteen-year-old version of Finn sing the opening lines of Faithfully. Then she heard herself join in, and she saw a smile forming on Allie's face as Finn and Rachel sang to each other and made their way to the stage. Finn put his arm around Rachel. This song meant so much to them as their first ever competition duet. Finn had told Rachel that he loved her for the first time right before they sang it at Regionals. They'd also sang it together at their wedding.

As the rest of the glee club joined Finn and Rachel on stage, Allie turned to Finn and Rachel. "Wow, that was really good!"

"You think so?" Finn asked.

"Yeah," Allie said. The music began for the opening of the mashup of "Any Way You Want It" and "Loving Touching Squeezing," and Allie seemed to enjoy the energy the glee club had as Finn and Rachel led them in the mashup.

"Was that Puck and Quinn?" Allie asked at the end of the song.

"Yes," Rachel said. "And then the shortest boy was your Uncle Kurt."

"It looks like you guys were having so much fun," Allie said.

"Oh, that was a great day," Finn said as the music to "Don't Stop Believing" began. This was also a special song for Finn and Rachel, as it was the first song they'd led the glee club in during practice (unless you counted "You're The One That I Want," which had been interrupted anyway). It was just as fun to watch more than ten years later, and Rachel's heart warmed as she saw the big hug she and Finn gave each other at the end of the video.

"You guys are such good singers," Allie said to Finn and Rachel at the end of the video.

"You think so?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah," Allie said. "Do you have any videos of them singing together?"

"We do," Hiram said. "We have videos from just about all their competitions."

"I'd like to see the other ones sometime," Allie said.

Finn picked up a photo of the glee club when they won Nationals their senior year. "This is actually from when we won the National competition our senior year," Finn said. "Rachel and I sang the lead of our big group number."

"Wow," Allie said. "So you guys were the best singers in the country?"

"They still are!" LeRoy said.

"Awww, Daddy," Rachel laughed.

"You guys are really good," Allie said. She looked at the photo some more.

"So, there's me and Finn, of course," Rachel said. "And you recognized Puck and Quinn earlier, and there's Kurt and his husband Blaine."

"Do you still talk to any of the other people?" Allie asked.

"Oh, we still talk to all of them," Rachel said. "Every year we all go to the National competition and meet up together."

"That is so cool," Allie said, giving Finn and Rachel the most genuine smile she'd given them. Rachel and Finn exchanged a look, feeling hopeful.

_Chapter 5 preview: Allie has an upsetting experience at school. Will she be able to open up to Finn and Rachel in this upsetting time? She also starts to befriend some of the fourth grade girls._


	5. Chapter 5: Stitches

_Thanks so much for all the support so far, I really appreciate it. Sounds like planning for Season 5 of Glee is underway and I'm so excited! They'd better give us lots of Finchel to make up for last year! I'm pretty happy with how this chapter turned out, hope you enjoy it and review if you want me to continue. And thanks to anyone who voted for me in the Glee fanfic awards. Character finalists will be up later today or tomorrow, and if I'm a finalist, I'd appreciate any votes!_

Chapter 5: Stitches

As Allie was getting ready for school the morning after the family went to Lima, she heard a knock on the door. "Come in!" she said as Finn came in.

"Hi Finn," Allie said.

"Hi Allie," Finn said. "I have some good news."

Allie got excited. "Tell me!"

"You know how you said you wanted to visit your friends in Columbus?" Finn asked.

"Yeah," Allie said.

"Well, in two weeks you can go visit them," Finn said. "I got tickets to an Ohio State football game and I'm taking Ryan and Nick, and while I'm at the game with the boys, you can visit with some of your friends."

Allie felt so happy to hear that. She definitely missed her friends in Columbus. The only friends she'd really made at Cambridge were Emma and Ava. "Thank you Finn!"

"It's no problem," Finn said. "I'll call their parents, okay?"

"Thank you," Allie said as she and Finn went downstairs, where Rachel was giving breakfast to Emma, Ryan and Sarah.

"Can we please have our money?" Ryan asked.

"Okay, have fun at the museum today," Rachel said as she handed money to Ryan and Emma.

"You guys are going to the museum today?" Allie asked.

"Yeah, the whole second grade's going," Ryan said.

Allie began to panic. She didn't want to sit alone at lunch today. "Is there a way I can go?" she asked Rachel.

"I don't think your teacher would be okay with that," Rachel said.

"But I don't want to sit alone at lunch," Allie said. "I don't have any friends in my grade, I'm too shy to talk to them. Besides, they already all have their own friends."

"Allie, I'm sure there's some kids in your grade who'd love to have you for a friend," Rachel said. "You're such a sweet little girl, how couldn't they want to be friends with you?"

"I'll try," Allie said.

x

At lunch that day, Allie nervously walked around the cafeteria. Since she usually sat with Emma and Ava, she was on her own today with the second graders on a field trip. She finally saw two girls from her class and decided to give it a try. She gulped as she stopped at their table. "Hi."

One of the girls looked at Allie. "Hi. You're in our class right?"

Allie smiled. "Yeah. I'm Allie."

"I knew that," the other girl said. "I'm Lindsay."

"I'm Jessica," the first girl said.

"Is it okay if I sit with you guys?" Allie asked.

"Sure!" Lindsay said.

"Thanks," Allie said. "I usually sit with... my sister, but she's on a field trip today." It felt nice to be able to call Emma that. Besides, she didn't know how else to say it.

"Who's your sister?" Jessica asked.

"Emma, she's in second grade," Allie said.

"Oh, she seems nice," Lindsay said. "So, where'd you move here from."

Allie took out her lunch. "Columbus."

"Did you live near Ohio State?" Lindsay asked. "My brother likes the Buckeyes."

"Yeah, kind of," Allie said.

"That's cool," Jessica said. "Wait, you said that Emma's your sister? Why weren't you here at the beginning of the school year, she was here?"

"It's a long story," Allie said.

The two girls nodded as they continued talking. Allie wasn't sure if she wanted to talk about her adoption and her parents just yet.

At the end of the lunch hour, the three girls headed to the playground for older kids. This was the first time that Allie had gone to the playground with other kids. Usually she kept to herself on the playground since Emma and Ava went to the playground for younger kids.

"You're Emma's sister?" a voice behind the girls said.

Allie turned around and saw two boys. One of them was in her class. "My brother's in Emma and Ryan's class," one of the boys said. "He told me some things about your family."

Allie didn't like where this was going. "But Allie's nice, and Emma and Ryan seem nice too," Lindsay said.

The boy laughed. "Sure, I bet they're fine. But my mom and dad heard that they have a lot of faggots in their family."

"Don't say mean things about my family!" Allie said. Even though the Hudsons didn't feel like family quite yet, it wasn't okay with her if people said mean things about them.

"My mom said that's a bad word," Jessica said.

"Well, people like that are bad!" the boy said. "And you and Ryan and Emma are bastard children and your parents are sluts."

Allie felt her anger building up and she slapped the boy. No one was allowed to talk this way about the people who brought her into the world. Unfortunately, the boy pushed her over and she hit the side of her face on playground equipment.

"Allie are you okay?" Lindsay asked.

Allie put her hand on the side of her face and noticed that there was blood. "I'm bleeding."

"Let's go see the nurse," Jessica said.

"Yeah," Lindsay added. "Maybe she can call your mom and dad."

Allie winced as she began walking inside with her two new friends and felt tears coming to her eyes. She was bleeding, and Lindsay suggested calling her mom and dad. Little did they know, they couldn't call her mom and dad.

Jessica told the nurse that they were going inside, and the girls walked to the nurse's office. "What happened?" the nurse asked.

"Elijah pushed her over," Jessica said.

"What happened?" the nurse asked, motioning for Allie to sit down.

"He was saying mean things about her family..." Lindsay began.

"He said that I have lots of faggots in my family," Allie said. "And I slapped him and then he pushed me over."

The nurse began putting a gauze pad on Allie's cheek. "Allie, if you hadn't hit him, he probably wouldn't have pushed you over. But this looks like pretty bad bleeding. You might need stitches. I'm going to call your parents. Do you know their work phone numbers?"

Allie felt ready to cry. "My parents..."

"She's Emma and Ryan Hudson's sister," Jessica said. "Don't their parents work at other schools?"

"They do," the nurse said. "Now, what's wrong, Allie? You could have told me that."

"My parents died!" Allie blurted out.

The nurse got a surprised and sympathetic look, as did Lindsay and Jessica. "So that's why your last name isn't Hudson?" Jessica asked.

"Yeah," Allie said, starting to cry. "My parents died, and I came to live with Finn and Rachel. They're my birth parents."

"Oh my God," the nurse said. "I'm so, so sorry. I'll call Finn and Rachel, okay?"

"Can we stay with her until Finn and Rachel get here?" Lindsay asked.

"Of course you can," the nurse said.

"I'm so sorry about your parents," Jessica said as the nurse went to call Finn and Rachel.

"I really miss them," Allie said.

"I bet you do," Jessica said. The girls sat quietly for a few minutes before the nurse came back and gave Allie an ice pack wrapped in a wash cloth. "Hold this to your face."

Allie held it to her face. "I've never had stitches before."

"I had stitches once," Lindsay said. "I fell down on the playground and cut my leg."

"Did they hurt?" Allie asked.

"Not really," Lindsay admitted.

A few minutes later, Rachel came in, and Allie had never been happier to see her birth mother. She wanted her other mom and dad right now, but Rachel was the best she could get. Plus, Rachel had been really nice to her lately.

"Rachel," Allie said softly.

"Oh my God," Rachel said as she gave Allie a hug. "My poor little girl."

"Please don't be mad at me, Rachel," Allie said.

"Of course I'm not," Rachel said. "I've got Sarah at a friend's house, let's go to the hospital. I called Finn, he's trying to find someone to cover for him at school and he'll meet us there."

"Thank you, Rachel," Allie said. She turned to her two new friends. "Thanks Lindsay. Thanks Jessica."

"Feel better," Jessica said as the two girls left.

"Allie, what did that boy say to you?" Rachel asked as they started to leave. "The nurse didn't say."

"He said that you and Finn were sluts," Allie said. "He called me and Emma and Ryan bastard children, and he said that I have a lot of faggots in my family." She was beginning to feel like part of this family, and she didn't like for people to say mean things about them. She'd liked Rachel's dads when she met them last weekend, and she was sure Kurt and Blaine were nice.

Rachel shook her head in disgust. "Unfortunately, that happens a lot. I hate it when people say things like that."

"So do I," Allie said.

Rachel's phone began vibrating. "Allie, could you check it?"

"Yeah," Allie said as she looked and read Finn's text out loud. "Rach, I got someone to cover my class this afternoon. On my way to meet you and Allie."

"I'm sorry, Rachel," Allie said after she put the phone down.

"Allie, you don't need to keep apologizing," Rachel said. "That boy's the one who needs to apologize."

"He's mean," Allie said.

"Yes he is," Rachel said as they quietly pulled into the hospital parking lot. They went inside when Allie saw Finn walking in.

"Finn, I'm sorry," Allie said right before she told him the full story.

"I'm glad you defended our family," Finn said. "Hitting's never a good idea, but if you had to, I'm glad that's why you did it."

"Thank you," Allie said as she smiled at Finn.

The doctor came out and called Allie's name. Finn, Rachel and Allie went into the examination room, where the doctor put stitches in. As they left, Rachel said to Allie, "So, I saw there were two girls in the nurse's office with you."

"Yeah, I made two new friends today!" Allie said with a smile. "Jessica and Lindsay, they're in my class."

"That's great!" Finn said. "See, we told you things would get better."

Allie smiled to herself. Things were getting better. She was getting along better with Finn and Rachel, and she'd made friends at school.

_Chapter 6 preview: Allie goes to Columbus to visit some of her friends, but trouble might happen. Nick and Ava also make appearances._


	6. Chapter 6: Reunion Gone Wrong

_Thanks for the welcome back when I posted the newest chapter of my other story. I am VERY sorry that it took me a while to write again. Even though I am back to writing, unfortunately updates will be slower than they were before. You all know how much I loved Cory, Finn, Finchel and Monchele, and this has been and will most likely continue to be very hard for me. I am planning on working something special for Cory into both my stories though, so stay tuned._

_In other news, today's my birthday, and I'd really appreciate reviews as a birthday present! (Last year I campaigned for birthday tweets from Lea and Cory as a birthday present...) I'm also a finalist for best Finn fic/ writer and best Rachel fic/ writer in the Glee fanfic awards and would really appreciate any votes. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and review if you want me to continue!_

Chapter 6: Reunion Gone Wrong

"Can we go now?" Allie asked.

"We need to pick Nick up, remember?" Finn asked.

"Someone seems excited," Rachel said.

Allie giggled. "Yeah, I'm excited to see my friends." Today, Finn, Ryan and Nick were going to the OSU football game, and while they were there, Allie would be visiting with some of her friends from Columbus.

"You are making friends here though, right?" Rachel asked.

"Oh, yeah!" Allie said, forgetting to tell Rachel what she'd meant to tell her and Finn yesterday. "Jessica invited me to go to the movies with her and Lindsay next weekend!"

"That's great," Finn said. "See, Allie, people do like you."

"I was worried no one would like me," Allie admitted.

"How can anyone not like you?" Rachel asked.

Allie laughed as Ryan came downstairs, wearing a bright red OSU sweatshirt. "You know, when I lived in Columbus, practically everyone wore those to school every Friday."

"Yeah, you didn't have to wear a uniform at your school in Columbus," Ryan said.

Finn picked up the keys. "Okay Allie. Okay Ryan. Let's get going."

"Have fun!" Rachel said as Finn, Ryan and Allie started to leave.

"Bye Rachel!" Allie called.

"Dad, can I sit in the front seat?" Ryan asked as Finn pulled out the car.

"Ryan, I have the same answer I have every time you ask that: no," Finn said. "You're seven."

"But I'm taller than Allie!" Ryan protested.

"Allie can't sit in the front seat, either," Finn said.

"I'm the tallest in my class!" Ryan tried.

"Yeah, but Finn's so tall!" Allie said.

"Ryan, let's go get Nick," Finn said as he began driving the van. When they arrived at Nick's house, Finn turned to Allie. "So, I talked to your friend's mom last night. What are you girls thinking of doing?"

"I'm not sure," Allie said. Then she thought of another thing she wanted to do before they left Columbus. "Finn?"

"What is it?" Finn asked softly, as if he knew Allie was asking something difficult.

"Before we leave Columbus, can I visit Mom and Dad?"

Finn turned around, nodded and gave Allie an understanding look. "Of course you can."

Even Ryan and Nick stopped talking when Allie said that. For a few minutes, the car was quiet until Ryan spoke. "Allie, do you still miss your mom and dad?"

"Yeah," Allie said as she began thinking about them.

"You know, Finn and Rachel are really nice," Nick said. "Sometimes I wish they were my parents."

"Nick, you have wonderful parents," Finn said.

"But you and Rachel are so nice and fun!" Nick said.

"So are your parents," Finn said.

"I do like Finn and Rachel," Allie said. She did like Finn and Rachel. They'd been there for her a lot during these past few weeks. She liked the bond she was starting to form with them, and with Emma, Ryan and Sarah. They just didn't feel like her parents yet.

"Well, you know we all love you, Allie," Finn said.

x

The car arrived in Columbus a little while before the game was scheduled to begin, so Finn had told Ryan and Nick that they were going to stop at the cemetery first to visit Allie's parents. Allie felt herself getting nervous as they arrived. She hadn't been to the cemetery since the funeral.

"I'm going to park the car here, okay?" Finn said softly to Allie.

Allie nodded. "Okay." Finn hadn't parked the car too far from the grave, but she knew where it was right away. She felt so sad seeing "James and Elizabeth Cummings" engraved into the gravestone.

"Hi Mommy. Hi Daddy," Allie said softly. "I miss you so much. Finn and Rachel are taking good care of me, but I miss you. They have three other kids, Emma, Ryan and Sarah. Ryan's kind of like my brother, and Emma and Sarah are kind of like my sisters. I guess they are, somehow. I made two new friends at my school, their names are Lindsay and Jessica, you'd like them. Today I'm visiting some of my friends from my old school here while Finn takes Ryan and his friend Nick to a football game at OSU, so Finn said I could visit you."

It hurt to be talking when she didn't know if anyone was listening. She started crying. "I miss you so much." She knew that Finn, Ryan and Nick had to go to the football game, so she headed back to the car, still crying. When she got to the car, Finn pulled her in for a hug.

"I love you," Finn whispered.

Allie wasn't sure if she was quite ready to say that to Finn (or Rachel) quite yet, but she put her arms around Finn. "I'm sorry if I'm making you late."

"Don't worry," Finn said.

"Can I go to my friend's house?" Allie asked.

"Of course," Finn said.

"Are you okay?" Ryan asked as Allie got in the car.

"Yeah," Allie said. She tried to get the boys talking about something else to distract them. "So, are you excited for the game?"

"Yeah!" Nick said. "My cousin goes to Michigan."

"Ew," Ryan said.

"Yeah, ew," Nick said.

"Be nice, boys," Finn said as he pulled into a familiar looking driveway. Allie recognized this house and cheered up. This was her friend Danielle's house. "Have fun!" Finn said.

"I will!" Allie called as she hopped out of the car and ran up to the doorbell. "Bye Finn! Bye Ryan! Bye Nick!"

As Allie rang the doorbell of Danielle's house, Danielle's mom answered the door. "Hi Allie!"

"Hi Mrs. Brown," Allie said.

"How are you doing?" Danielle's mom asked. Allie hadn't seen them since the funeral.

"I'm okay," Allie lied.

"Good," Mrs. Brown said. "The girls are upstairs." Allie went upstairs and into Danielle's room, where Danielle was with two of their other friends, Veronica and Kate.

"Allie!" Kate exclaimed.

"I missed you guys!" Allie said as she hugged the girls.

"We missed you too!" Veronica said. "Want to play?"

"Of course!" Allie said.

The girls began playing together and it felt like the old days, but when they went downstairs for a snack, Danielle turned to Allie. "So, Allie, how do you feel about living with people who don't love you?"

"What do you mean?" Allie asked, feeling confused.

"They didn't want to have you when you were a baby," Danielle said.

"They were young when I was born," Allie protested. She didn't like the things her friend was saying.

"My mom told me that they have three other kids, they kept them," Veronica pointed out. "Maybe Danielle's right."

"They wouldn't have let her live with them if they didn't love her," Kate said.

The girls didn't say anything else about the subject after that, but Allie couldn't stop thinking about what her friend had said. Did Finn and Rachel not love her?

Allie wanted to leave Danielle's house, but she didn't know what to do. She couldn't go home to her parents. And what if Danielle and Veronica were right? What if Finn and Rachel didn't love her?

Allie barely focused on her friends until Finn, Ryan and Nick came to pick her up. She didn't talk the whole way home.

"Did you have fun with your friends?" Finn asked Allie after they dropped off Nick. "You were pretty quiet."

"Yeah," Allie said, not wanting to tell Finn about what the girls said. "Did Ohio State win?"

"Of course!" Ryan said.

"That's good," Allie said. She didn't say anything else when they were arriving back at the Hudsons' house. They went inside, where Rachel was reading a book to Sarah.

"Hi, Mom!" Ryan said.

"How was the game?" Rachel asked.

"It was fun, OSU won," Finn said.

"That's great," Rachel said. "Allie, did you have fun with your friends?"

Allie forced a smile. "Yeah."

"Where's Emma?" Finn asked.

"She's upstairs with Ava," Rachel said. "Ava's actually spending the night."

"Okay," Finn said.

"Can I go upstairs for a little?" Allie asked.

"Honey, you don't need to ask," Rachel said. "Dinner's going to be ready soon, okay?"

"Okay," Allie said as she began walking up to her room. She couldn't stop thinking about the things Danielle and Veronica had said. She went down and sat on her bed. She missed her parents, but at the same time she also liked the bond she was building with Finn and Rachel and their kids.

Allie heard a knock on her door. "Come in!"

Rachel peeked in the door. "Hey Allie, can I come in?"

"Yeah," Allie said.

Rachel came in and sat on Allie's bed. "Did something happen in Columbus that upset you? I noticed you seemed kind of upset when you got home."

"Rachel, do you and Finn love me?" Allie asked.

Rachel gave her a look. "Of course we do!"

"But you didn't want me when I was a baby," Allie said. "And then you kept Emma and Ryan."

"Allie, Finn and I didn't want to give you up," Rachel said. "We were just worried that we wouldn't be able to give you what you needed. Giving you up was the hardest thing we ever had to do, and we missed you every day. We didn't want to go through the same pain we went through with you when we found out I was pregnant with Emma and Ryan."

"My friends Danielle and Veronica said you and Finn don't love me," Allie told Rachel.

"Those girls have never met me and Finn," Rachel said.

Allie sighed. "I guess you're right. I'm sorry, Rachel."

"Allie, I understand that things are hard for you now," Rachel said. "You know that you can always come to me and Finn when you're upset, right?"

Allie gave Rachel a smile. "Yeah."

"Now let's go have some dinner," Rachel said.

Allie followed Rachel downstairs, where Finn, Ryan, Sarah, Emma and Ava were waiting. "What are we having, Rachel?" Ava asked.

"Spaghetti, does that sound good?" Rachel said.

"Yeah," Ava said.

"Do you two have plans for tonight?" Finn asked Emma and Ava.

"Yeah, we want you to make us some popcorn while we watch the movie," Emma said. "And we also want to make brownies."

"I love brownies!" Allie said, feeling better when she heard a mention of the food she liked.

"You can help us make the brownies if you want," Emma said.

"Really?" Allie asked.

"Yeah!" Ava said. "And you can watch the movie with us, too."

"I'd like that," Allie said.

"You know, if you want, sometime you can have Lindsay and Jessica sleep over here, too," Rachel said.

"I'd like that," Allie said. After dinner, Allie went to make brownies with Rachel, Emma and Ava. Even though she was on the fence about some of her friends back in Columbus, she was beginning to form bonds here. When the girls finished cooking the brownies, they frosted them and called Finn, Ryan and Sarah.

"We finished the brownies!" Ava said.

"Yummy brownies!" Sarah said as she grabbed one.

Allie took a bite of one of the brownies. "This is such a good recipe!"

"My mom knows the best recipe ever," Emma said.

"Yeah, this is the best I've ever tasted," Allie said.

"I think she's doing better now," Finn whispered to Rachel.

"Yeah, me too," Rachel whispered back as they watched Allie with Sarah, Ryan, Emma and Ava.

_Chapter 7 preview: Finn and Rachel discover some unexpected news. Allie meets some other Glee club members. One of the moms of one of Allie's friends in Columbus calls Finn and Rachel._

_*The something special for Cory in this story will begin in the next chapter. The first person to guess what it is will get to choose the next Glee alumni to make an appearance!*_


	7. Chapter 7: Old Friends and New Friends

_Thanks for all your support in this story so far. Like I said, the tribute to Cory in this story will first be hinted at in this chapter. I had someone guess it already! I really appreciate all your support, especially in this tough time. Writing about Finchel isn't always the easiest because I miss Cory so much, but it does help me knowing that I'm keeping their legacy going. I was hoping that in Season 5 of Glee, they'd just say they got married and moved away, but that's not what it looks like... anyway, hope you guys like this chapter and review if you want me to continue!_

Chapter 7: Old Friends and New Friends

"There's tryouts for the school orchestra today," Allie told Finn as the family was getting ready for breakfast. Rather, Finn was getting the kids ready for breakfast. Rachel was still upstairs. She'd told Finn that she wasn't feeling well.

"That's great," Finn said. "I'm sure you'll get in, musical talent runs in your blood."

"Well, I do know that you and Rachel are both really good singers," Allie said.

"That's what people say," Finn said.

"Please, Daddy," Ryan said. "Every time we see your old Glee director, he reminds us that you two were the best things to ever happen to New Directions."

"All right then," Finn said. "Allie, do you know what song you'll play for your audition?"

"Yes!" Allie said. "I've been practicing, want to hear it?"

"I'd love to," Finn said.

Allie got out her viola and played what was, in Finn's opinion, a flawless viola solo. At the end, Finn, Ryan, Emma and Sarah clapped.

"You'll get in!" Emma said.

"Definitely," Finn agreed. "Guys, I'm going to go check on your mom, I'll be right back."

"Okay, Daddy," Sarah said.

Finn went upstairs into his and Rachel's bedroom and heard coughing. He went into the bathroom and saw Rachel kneeling in front of the toilet, throwing up.

"Oh my God, Rach!" Finn gasped as he ran to his wife's side.

Rachel looked at Finn with tears in her eyes. Finn gave his wife a kiss. "Are you okay? Do you need to call off work today?"

"I don't need to," Rachel said.

"What's going on?" Finn asked.

Rachel looked at Finn. "I'm pregnant."

Finn felt like he was going into shock. Of course he was happy to have another kid on the way, but at the same time, he was a little nervous. Allie had just started warming up to him and Rachel. What would she think about another baby being on the way?

Rachel seemed to have the same thoughts in mind. "When should we tell them?"

"We should wait," Finn said. "Right now, let's get them to school."

Finn and Rachel went downstairs. "You okay, Mommy?" Sarah asked.

"I'm fine," Rachel said. She looked at Allie. "Excited for your tryout today?"

Allie smiled. "Yes!"

"You're going to get in, I know you will," Rachel said.

"You guys ready to go to school?" Finn asked the kids.

"I guess," Emma said. "It's school."

x

"How do you think the audition went for the orchestra?" Lindsay asked Allie. The three girls were having lunch together now, and Allie had her audition right before lunch.

"I think it went well," Allie said. "I hope I got in."

"I bet you will," Jessica said. "You won't have to compete against me for first chair trumpet."

"Or me for first chair clarinet," Lindsay added.

"I was wondering," Allie said. "Maybe would you guys like to come over after school?"

"Yeah, that would be fun," Jessica said.

"I think I can too," Lindsay said.

Allie smiled to herself, glad that she could have her friends over. After school, she went up to Finn and Rachel, who were waiting, as Lindsay and Jessica went to ask their parents. "Is it okay if I have Lindsay and Jessica over today?"

"Of course it is!" Finn said. "Some of our friends from high school are in town though, so hopefully they won't mind."

"I'm sure they won't mind," Allie said.

Lindsay and Jessica came over. "My mom said it's fine," Lindsay said.

"Yeah, so did mine," Jessica added.

"Well, it's fine with us, too," Rachel said. "Some of our friends will be coming over, too."

"So, who's coming over?" Ryan asked.

"Uncle Mike and Aunt Tina," Finn said. He turned to Allie and her friends. "Well, they aren't really their aunt and uncle. They're like a brother and sister to us, but they were friends of ours in high school. His dance company has a performance in Cleveland, so they're visiting us."

"That's cool," Lindsay said.

"Yeah, Finn and Rachel are still really close with their friends from high school," Allie told her friends.

"When they all get together they all sing the songs they sang together in high school," Emma said.

"Wow," Jessica said.

"Yeah, I haven't met the whole group yet," Allie said.

When the family got home, Allie took Lindsay and Jessica to her room. "Hey Allie, do you still miss your mom and dad?" Jessica asked.

"Of course I do," Allie said. She pointed at a photo of her with her parents. "That's them."

The two girls looked at the photo. "Finn and Rachel seem nice though."

"They're very nice," Allie said. "I like Ryan, Emma and Sarah a lot too."

x

The phone rang, and Finn went to answer it. "Hello?"

"Hi, is this Allie's birth father?" the voice on the other end asked.

"Yes," Finn said. "My name is Finn Hudson."

"Mr. Hudson, my name is Claire Richardson, my daughter Kate was a friend of Allie's in Columbus," the woman on the other end of the phone said.

"Oh, hi," Finn said. "Allie mentioned Kate was there when she got together with her friends."

"Yes," Kate's mom said. "Mr. Hudson, Kate told me about what Veronica and Danielle were saying about you and your wife, and she and I both feel horrible about it."

"Yeah, that did upset Allie," Finn said.

"I really want to let you know that Kate and I don't feel that way," Kate's mom said. "She really wants Allie to know that, and she hopes she can still be friends with Allie."

Finn considered getting Allie and putting her on the phone, but she was upstairs with Lindsay and Jessica, plus Mike and Tina would be here soon. "I'll tell her you called."

"Thank you," Finn said. He hung up the phone and explained the call to Rachel.

"I'm glad at least one of those girls isn't a bitch," Rachel said.

"Yeah," Finn said. "We should tell Allie after her friends leave."

"I agree, we should wait for then," Rachel said.

"Do you think we should tell Mike and Tina about - " Finn said, tilting his head toward Rachel's stomach.

"I don't know," Rachel said. "Maybe if we tell them not to tell our kids."

The doorbell rang, and Rachel went to answer it. "Hey!" she said, giving Mike and Tina a hug.

"It's so great to see you guys!" Tina said.

"Yeah, how are you?" Mike asked. "How are the kids?"

"They're doing well, they're upstairs," Finn said.

"Speaking of kids..." Tina said.

"Are you saying?" Rachel asked.

"Yup!" Mike said. "This summer, we'll have one!"

"That's amazing!" Rachel said. "Actually - "

"You're having one, too?" Tina asked.

"Yeah!" Rachel said. "Don't tell the kids though, we want to surprise them later."

"How's Allie?" Mike asked.

"She's adjusting," Finn said. "Actually, she has two girls from her school over now."

"Uncle Mike! Aunt Tina!" Finn, Rachel, Mike and Tina turned and saw Sarah on the stairs.

Mike picked Sarah up. "Hey Sarah!"

"How's preschool?" Tina asked.

"It's fun!" Sarah giggled.

"That's good," Mike said. "Your mommy told me you take dance lessons."

"Yeah!" Sarah said.

"We also told her you're the best dancer we know," Finn said.

"That's true!" Tina said.

"Hi!" Everyone looked up to see Ryan and Emma.

"Hi guys!" Mike said.

"Where's Allie?" Tina asked.

"Oh, she's upstairs with two girls from school," Emma said. "I can go get her."

"It's fun having another sister!" Sarah said.

"I bet it is!" Tina said.

"Yeah, it is," Ryan said. "Though I hope if we have any more kids, we get a brother."

Finn and Rachel grinned at each other as Allie came downstairs with Lindsay and Jessica. Allie looked at Mike and Tina. "Hi, I'm Allie."

"Hi Allie," Mike said. "We remember when Rachel was pregnant with you."

"Really?" Allie asked.

"Yeah, it was Finn and Rachel's last year of high school," Tina said.

Allie giggled. "Wow. So, Mike, you're in a dance company?"

"Yeah," Mike said. "We have a performance tomorrow."

"What type of dance?" Lindsay asked.

"Modern," Mike said.

"That's cool," Jessica said.

"Oh, these are my friends Lindsay and Jessica," Allie said.

"Would you two girls like to stay for dinner?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah!" Lindsay said.

"Call your parents and see if it's okay, it's fine with us," Finn said.

The two girls went to call their parents as Mike looked at Ryan, Emma, Sarah and Allie. "Guess what, guys?"

"What?" Sarah asked.

"This summer you're going to have another cousin!" Tina said.

"Really?" Ryan said.

"Yes!" Mike said. "Our first baby!"

"That's so cool!" Allie said.

"We're excited," Mike said.

"We were excited about all of ours, too," Finn said.

"Yeah, Finn and Rachel told me about how the whole Glee club sings and dances together when you all get together," Allie said.

"We could do a dance for you guys now if you want," Tina said. "Mike's a lot better than me, but we can still show you."

"Do it!" Sarah said.

Mike and Tina did a dance in the center of the living room, and it was just as impressive as Finn and Rachel remembered their dances being in high school. "That was great!" Finn said. "I can't wait to see your company's performance tomorrow."

"Since we did a dance, you two should sing a duet," Mike said.

"We haven't sang in a while," Rachel said.

"Do it!" Allie said. "I haven't heard a live duet from you two yet."

Finn felt good knowing Allie wanted to hear them sing together. "I guess we can do one." He turned on the karaoke machine, selected a duet with Rachel, and they began to sing.

_Finn: Everyone's around, no words are coming now._  
_And I can't find my breath, can we just say the rest with no sound._  
_And I know this isn't enough, I still don't measure up._  
_And I'm not prepared, sorry is never there when you need it._  
_Rachel: And now I do want you to know I hold you up above everyone._  
_And now I do want you to know I think you'd be good to me_  
_And I'd be so good to you._  
_I would._  
_Finn: I thought I saw a sign somewhere between the lines._  
_Maybe it's me, maybe I only see what I want._  
_Rachel: And I still have your letter just got caught between_  
_Someone I just invented, who I really am and who I've become._  
_Both: And now I do want you to know I hold you up above everyone._  
_And now I do want you to know I think you'd be good to me_  
_And I'd be so good to you._  
_Finn: Whoa_  
_You bring me higher._  
_Rachel: Yeah._  
_I would._  
_Both: And now I do want you to know I hold you up above everyone._  
_And now I do want you to know I think you'd be good to me_  
_And I'd be so good to you._  
_Finn: I'd be good to you_

_Rachel: I'd be good to you_

_Both: I'd be good to you_  
_I'd be so good to you_  
_Finn: I'd be good to you_

_Rachel: I'd be good to you _

_Both: I'd be good to you_  
_I'd be so good to you_

"That was great!" Allie said.

"Thank you," Finn said.

"You guys sound so amazing together!" Allie declared. Finn and Rachel exchanged looks, glad Allie was warming up to them.

_Chapter 8 preview: Allie finds out if she got into the orchestra. Finn and Rachel tell Allie, Emma, Ryan and Sarah that Rachel is pregnant._


	8. Chapter 8: Baby Issues

_Hey. I'm so sorry it took me so long to update. For some reason, this week has been particularly tough for me. I don't know why, the best excuse I can give is that grief is VERY unpredictable. I'm sorry that my updates have been so much slower than they used to be, but I hope those of you who are still around are still enjoying the stories. Hope you enjoy this chapter and review if you want me to continue._

_Just to clarify things, the events of "The Future" are canon in this story, so Finn did not join the army and Rachel did not go to NYADA. Instead, Finn went to OSU, and Rachel went to Princeton until she was attacked (you can read that story in the future), and then she transferred to OSU. Therefore, none of the events of Season 4 of Glee took place unless they get referenced at some point._

Chapter 8: Baby Issues

"When should we tell them?" Finn whispered to Rachel. They were getting ready for dinner, and all four kids were at the table. The food was almost ready, but they still hadn't told the kids that Rachel was pregnant.

"Tell us what?" Emma asked. Clearly, Finn hadn't been as quiet as he hoped he was. He wasn't sure how they'd react, especially Allie.

"What did we do?" Ryan asked.

"Nothing," Finn said, pacing around. He was most worried about Allie's reaction.

"I'm beginning to worry that we did something," Allie said.

Finn looked at Rachel. Maybe she needed to tell them. He gave her a look to tell her she needed to.

Rachel looked at the kids. "I'm pregnant."

"A baby?" Sarah asked, giggling.

Finn's eyes fell on Allie, who was sitting there in silence. But he turned to Sarah. "Yeah, a baby."

"I hope it's a boy," Ryan said. "I want a brother."

"I'm full," Allie said. "Can I go to my room?"

"We haven't even eaten," Ryan said.

"I'm not hungry!" Allie shouted as she began to go upstairs.

"Where are you going?" Rachel asked.

"Why are you having a baby?!" Allie shouted.

Now didn't seem like the appropriate time to talk about sex, especially with so many young kids.

"We didn't plan it," Rachel said.

"Oh, like you didn't plan to have me?" Allie snapped as she walked away. "Well, then maybe you shouldn't keep this baby either! Why did you keep all of them, and why are you keeping this baby, but not me?"

Finn and Rachel started to follow Allie up the stairs. "Can you please listen to us?" Finn asked.

"No!" Allie shouted. She went down the hall and they heard the door slam.

Finn and Rachel looked up the stairs. "That didn't go well," Finn said.

"No," Rachel said as she took her husband's hand.

"What do we do now?" Finn asked.

"Let's just let her be," Rachel said. "She'll come down when she's ready."

Finn and Rachel went back to the dining room. "Where's Allie?" Emma asked.

"She's upstairs," Finn said. "Right now, let's just let her be upstairs."

Finn felt ready to cry, but knew he couldn't in front of the kids. He and Rachel had been trying so hard to bond with Allie and make her comfortable, and it felt like they were back at square one now.

No one said much of anything at dinner. Even Sarah seemed to know that something wasn't quite right. After dinner, Ryan, Emma and Sarah went off to their rooms, and Finn and Rachel stayed in the kitchen to clean up. Finn put Allie's food in the refrigerator in case she got hungry later.

"I do feel bad," Rachel sighed. "She lost the man and woman she saw as her parents, and she feels like once again she's being replaced."

Finn looked at Rachel's stomach. "We weren't even trying to get pregnant."

"Were we with any of them?" Rachel asked.

"You have a point," Finn said.

x

Allie could hear Finn and Rachel's conversation from her room. She loved the bond she was forming with Finn, Rachel, Emma, Ryan and Sarah, but she still missed her parents. She was feeling confused too. Finn and Rachel had given her up, but they'd kept Ryan. They'd kept Emma. They'd kept Sarah. She'd be the only one who they hadn't kept from the beginning. And a baby would definitely change the dynamic. She was just getting used to how things worked here, and a baby would be another new thing to get used to.

She wished her parents hadn't died. For nine years she'd been in a stable world. She'd made friends here and was getting to know her birth parents, but she missed her parents and her friends back in Columbus. Then again, she wasn't sure if some of her friends in Columbus were still friends. She was just feeling really confused right now.

Allie heard a knock on her door. "Allie can I come in?" she heard Rachel say.

"I want to be alone now!" Allie said. She couldn't stand to look at Finn or Rachel right now.

"Okay," Rachel said. "It might help to talk. Finn and I are downstairs if you need us."

Allie looked around the room. She'd been through so many changes lately, too many. She was just starting to get used to Cleveland and Cambridge Elementary and the Hudson family. She couldn't handle another change.

Allie wanted to leave her room, but she was too angry to face Finn and Rachel. She heard when they got Sarah ready for bed. Then she heard them get Ryan and Emma ready for bed. Shortly after that, she heard another knock on the door. "Allie, are you sure you don't want me to come in?" Finn asked. "I know you're upset but..."

"Leave me alone!" Allie said.

Finn sighed. "Okay, I'll be downstairs with Rachel."

x

"She hates us," Rachel sighed as she looked down at her stomach. She was probably only a few weeks along. There was still time for Allie to get used to the idea. Right?

"She doesn't hate us," Finn said. "At least I hope she doesn't."

"I've always loved her," Rachel said, starting to cry. "She was our first child."

"You know how much I love her," Finn said, also starting to cry. "I thought about her every day."

Rachel gave her husband a kiss. "She seemed to be warming up to us. Especially the other kids."

"When do you think she'll talk to us again?" Finn asked.

Rachel shrugged. "Soon, I hope."

"Should we go check on her?" Finn asked.

"Yeah," Rachel said. It had gotten pretty late. They went upstairs and knocked on Allie's door.

"It's late," Finn said. "Maybe she's asleep."

Rachel slowly opened the door and went into Allie's room. They saw that the lights were off and that Allie was in her bed, clutching her favorite stuffed animal. She was clearly asleep.

"We love you," Finn whispered as he and Rachel kissed their oldest daughter and left the room.

"Maybe she'll be feeling better in the morning," Rachel said quietly as she and Finn left. It was Friday night, so there wasn't school tomorrow. Maybe that wold make a small difference.

x

Allie hadn't really been asleep, she was pretending to be asleep. She was hungry, but she didn't want to talk to anyone right now. By now, she was sure that Finn and Rachel had fallen asleep, so she tiptoed downstairs and into the kitchen. She saw that someone had put her dinner in the refrigerator, so she put the plate in the microwave and looked around the kitchen and living room as the food heated up. Photos of Ryan, Emma and Sarah from the time they were babies were all over the living room. They'd had experiences with Finn and Rachel that she'd never get to have. This baby would have those experiences, too. There were pictures of her, too, but she was still feeling unsure. What probably got to her the most was the photo of Finn, Rachel, Emma, Ryan and Sarah. Would they be willing to replace that one of a photo of her with them?

The microwave went off, and Allie went to go eat her dinner. She admitted as she ate it that Rachel made good food. As she ate, she got a photo album off the shelf. Looking at this album, she could tell that it was from before Ryan and Emma were even born. She recognized Puck, Quinn, Mike and Tina, so this was from when Finn and Rachel were in high school. As she moved further along in the album, she noticed that Rachel had a baby bump in some of these photos. This was from when Rachel was pregnant with her. And Finn and Rachel looked pretty happy in these pictures.

She continued to look through the album, and eventually got to pictures after graduation. There was one picture of Rachel in a hospital bed, with Finn at her side. They both had their arms around a tiny baby. This was her, she knew it. They looked so happy, but at the same time, in so much pain.

The photos from the coming months were not as frequent. It was probably because of all the drama that went on during Finn and Rachel's first year of college, but she noticed they didn't look as happy in these photos. The first one they looked happy in was the one where Finn was giving Rachel her engagement ring.

Allie was beginning to get tired, but she was feeling intrigued at the same time by her birth parents' past. It did make her feel better to see that she was in the photos from their senior year, that she wasn't a part of their past they tried to hide. Anyway, she didn't want anyone to know she was still up at this hour. She went upstairs and fell asleep almost right away.

x

It was eleven in the morning, and Finn and Rachel were playing with Sarah while Ryan was at Nick's house and Emma was at Ava's. Allie was still asleep. "Do you think she'll come down any time soon?" Finn asked.

"I don't know," Rachel said. "But her food was gone this morning, so we know she ate."

Finally, Allie came downstairs. "Hi."

"Look who decided to come down," Rachel said with a smile.

"I'm sorry I was mean yesterday," Allie said.

"It's okay," Finn said. "We understand. We've had other babies we kept and we didn't keep you. You have every right to be upset with us. We really wanted to keep you. We really wish we could have spent the past nine years with you, but we didn't think we could give you what you needed when we found out."

"We've always loved you, Allie," Rachel added. "We spent every day for the past nine years wondering about you and missing you."

"I'm really sorry," Allie said. "I shouldn't have gotten so mad."

"We love you," Finn said.

"Thanks for taking care of me," Allie said.

"Of course we're taking care of you," Rachel said.

"Play with us?" Sarah asked Allie.

Allie smiled. "I'd love to."

x

The rest of the day went well, and Allie didn't say anything about the baby, but at the same time, she didn't argue with Finn and Rachel. As she was getting ready for bed that night, she turned to Finn and Rachel. "Last night, I saw the photo of you two with me at the hospital when I was born."

Finn and Rachel both got big smiled. "You did?" Finn asked.

"Yeah," Allie said.

"We wanted a photo with you before you left," Rachel said. "We didn't want to let you go."

"You know, your brother and sisters haven't seen that photo yet," Finn said, almost wondering if he chose the right words.

"Maybe you should show them," Allie said. "I was hungry last night, so I went downstairs to heat up my dinner and then I looked at that photo album. You have lots of photo albums though."

"Yes we do," Rachel said.

"I forgot to tell you yesterday, I found out I got into the orchestra," Allie said.

"That's great!" Finn said. "Let us know when the first concert is."

"I will," Allie said. "I'm sorry about last night."

"Honey, you don't need to keep apologizing," Rachel said. "We understand."

"Finn, Rachel..." Allie said as they began leaving. Finn and Rachel both turned to face Allie. "I love you," Allie said.

Finn and Rachel both felt tears in their eyes. They'd been waiting so long to hear those words from Allie. "We love you, too," Finn said.

"So much," Rachel added.

_Chapter 9 preview: The Hudsons go to New York for Thanksgiving, where Allie meets Kurt, Blaine and their sons for the first time. Burt, Carole and Rachel's dads also appear._


	9. Chapter 9: Thanksgiving in New York

_Thanks so much for all your reviews on my last chapter, I really appreciate it. Writing isn't always easy, but I want to somehow keep Finchel alive. And speaking of Finchel, I would like to extend a big virtual hug to Lea. I think she's just about the strongest person ever. Her speech brought tears to my eyes - it made me sad to see her so sad! I just wish Cory had been in the front row, cheering her on and congratulating her after she got her award! I miss him so much!_

_Hope you live this chapter, guys! I liked writing it - I always love writing Finchel and Klaine together! Please review if you want me to continue!_

Chapter 9: Thanksgiving in New York

"I've heard New York's pretty big," Allie said as the family got in the car.

"New York is really big," Rachel said. The Hudson family was getting in the car to drive to New York for Thanksgiving. Every Thanksgiving, Finn and Rachel went to New York with their kids to celebrate there, having dinner at Kurt and Blaine's apartment and going to the Macy's Parade. Finn's parents and Rachel's dads always went to New York for Thanksgiving too. Everyone would come to Cleveland for Christmas, and everyone went to Lima for Easter.

"Uncle Kurt and Uncle Blaine are our only uncles who actually are our uncles, right?" Allie asked.

"Yeah, that's right," Finn said. "The rest of them are just close friends." It was a lot for Allie to get used to, having such a big unbiological family.

"And remember, you'll also be meeting your cousins Michael and Brendan," Rachel said. "Michael's two, and Brendan's only a few months old."

"We haven't seen Brendan since he was born!" Ryan said.

"Yeah, we made a special trip to New York this summer to meet him," Finn said.

"I'm excited to meet them," Allie said. She was. It would be nice to meet the rest of her family.

"Your grandparents are excited to see all of you again," Rachel said.

"I love seeing our grandparents!" Emma said.

"Of course," Finn said.

"The bad part of going to New York is that it's a long drive," Emma whispered to Allie.

"How long?" Allie whispered back.

Emma shrugged. Allie turned to Finn and Rachel. "How long is the drive from Cleveland to New York?"

Rachel turned to face the kids. "About eight hours. Sorry Allie."

Allie sighed. She'd never been very good at long distance drives. "So where does the rest of the Glee family live?" she asked, still trying to keep up with the "family."

"Well, you remember Uncle Puck and Aunt Quinn, they live in Lima with Beth, Adam and Maddie," Rachel said. "You also met Uncle Mike and Aunt Tina, they live in Chicago. Aunt Santana and Aunt Brittany live in Lima too, and they have daughters, Molly who's two and Lily who was born a few weeks before you came to live with us. Uncle Sam and Aunt Mercedes live in Lima too, with Gabe who's two and Alicia who's one, and so do Uncle Artie and Aunt Betty and their son Eric, and he's one."

"That's a big family," Allie said. It would take a while to figure out who everyone was.

"That's not even everyone!" Ryan said. "There's also Uncle Rory and Aunt Harmony in Ireland, and Uncle Joe and Aunt Sugar, and Uncle Ryder and Aunt Kitty, and Uncle Jake and Aunt Marley, and Uncle Jack and Aunt Kylie..."

"You'll meet everyone at Nationals in the spring," Finn said.

"Yeah, every year we go to Nationals to cheer for the New Directions," Ryan said. "It's fun, we get to go to all sorts of cool cities."

"Where will Nationals be this year?" Allie asked.

"Atlanta," Rachel said.

"That's cool," Allie said as she looked out the window. She was excited to be going to New York, but at the same time she felt a little sad. This was the first time she'd be celebrating a holiday without the man and woman who'd raised her for the first nine years of her life. Maybe being in New York would take her mind off things.

x

"Wake up, Allie!" A few hours had passed, and Allie looked to see Sarah nudging her.

"We're in New York?" Allie asked. She hadn't even realized she'd fallen asleep.

"Yeah, at the hotel," Sarah said. "You fell asleep."

"From what I remember, you were asleep when we left!" Allie laughed.

"Are you guys ready to go into the hotel?" Finn asked the kids.

"Yeah," Allie said as she picked up her bag.

"I'm so glad to be out of the car," Rachel said to Finn.

"Was our little boy or girl good on the way here?" Finn asked.

"Yeah, but I'm still waiting for a kick," Rachel said.

Allie got quiet as Finn and Rachel talked about the baby. She was still getting used to living with them, and once the baby came, that would be something else to get used to.

"You okay?" Rachel asked Allie.

"Yeah, it was just a long drive," Allie said.

"I know," Rachel said. "Maybe some rest at the hotel will make you feel better."

x

A few hours later, Finn, Rachel, Ryan, Emma, Sarah and Allie drove to a townhouse in the outskirts of New York. Allie felt herself getting a little nervous again to be meeting her uncles and cousins for the first time. Finn rang the bell and someone answered the door. Allie knew who this was from the pictures. This was Kurt.

Kurt hugged Finn and Rachel. "I missed you guys!"

"We missed you too," Rachel said.

"Uncle Kurt!" Sarah cried as she jumped into Kurt's arms.

Kurt greeted Ryan and Emma and then looked at Allie. "And you're Allie."

Allie smiled. "Hi."

"I haven't seen you, except in ultrasound photos," Kurt said. Allie managed to smile at that.

"Is Uncle Blaine home?" Ryan asked as they went in.

"I made him go pick up some of the food," Kurt said as he led the family in. "And the boys are sleeping. So, Allie, how are you putting up with my brother?"

Allie felt herself getting shy again. "Finn's nice."

"He is," Kurt said. "I don't know if Finn told you, but before our parents got married, I had the biggest crush on him."

"You did?" Allie said.

"Yeah, he did," Finn laughed as everyone heard some some cries.

"That's my calling," Kurt said. "Allie, want to come with me and meet your cousin?"

Allie smiled. "Sure." She followed Kurt up the stairs and into a bedroom. Kurt picked up a baby boy out of the crib. "It's okay Brendan, Daddy's here."

Allie looked at the little boy. "He's so cute!"

"He is," Kurt said. "Would you like to hold him?"

"I'd love to," Allie said as she sat down in the chair in Brendan's room. Kurt put Brendan in Allie's arms. "I'd like to meet his brother, too."

"He'll be up from his nap soon," Kurt said. "Brendan, this is your cousin Allie."

Brendan looked up at Allie. "You're really good with him," Kurt added. "So, you guys are going to have one soon."

Allie didn't say anything. She was still on the fence about the baby. "When's Blaine going to be home?"

"It shouldn't be long," Kurt said as they heard noise from down the hall. "I think that's my other little guy, I'll be right back."

Kurt came back a few minutes later with another little boy. "Allie, this is Michael, he's two," Kurt said. "Michael, this is your cousin Allie."

"Hi Allie," Michael said.

"Hi Michael," Allie said.

"I two," Michael said.

"I'm nine," Allie said.

"Want to go downstairs?" Kurt asked Allie. "I'd like to visit more with your p... with Finn and Rachel. And Emma and Ryan and Sarah, of course."

Allie smiled. "Sure." She followed Kurt downstairs, where Finn, Rachel, Ryan, Emma and Sarah were waiting. Michael got excited when he saw the Hudsons.

"Hey little guy!" Finn said as he gave his nephew a hug.

"Brendan's gotten bigger!" Sarah said.

"Well, you haven't seen him since a few days after he was born!" Kurt said. "Allie was holding him upstairs."

"Really?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah!" Allie said, smiling at Rachel.

"Can I hold him now?" Emma asked.

"Of course you can," Kurt said as they heard the door open. "Sounds like someone's home."

"UNCLE BLAINE!" Sarah said as she jumped off the couch and ran up to Blaine.

"Hi, everyone!" Blaine said. He looked at Allie. "Hi Allie. I'm Blaine."

"Hi," Allie said.

"We're so glad she could come with us to New York," Finn said.

"Yeah, she's never been here before," Rachel said.

"Then we'll have to show her around!" Blaine said. "Of course she'll get to go to the parade tomorrow."

"Of course," Rachel said.

"I used to watch the parade on TV!" Allie said. "Now I get to see the real thing!"

"Yes you do," Kurt said.

x

The next morning, Finn, Rachel, Allie, Emma, Ryan, Sarah, Kurt, Blaine, Michael, Brendan, Burt, Carole, Hiram, LeRoy and Blaine's parents were near Macy's, lined up to watch the parade. Burt, Carole, Hiram and LeRoy had arrived from Lima last night, and so had Blaine's parents. Allie was a bit overwhelmed by the crowd at the parade area, but at the same time, it was so cool to finally see New York in person. The city was decorated for the holidays, and the decorations were more elaborate than they'd ever been in Columbus.

"Make sure you stay close to our parents," Ryan whispered to Allie. "Emma got lost last year."

"She did?" Allie asked.

"Yeah!" Ryan said.

The announcer said that the parade was beginning, and Allie peered through the crowd to watch the balloons and bands go by. The view wasn't what it was on TV, but there was something special about seeing everything live.

"The balloons are so big!" Sarah exclaimed.

"They were big last year, too," Ryan told his sister.

"Aren't they cool?" Rachel asked Allie.

"Yeah," Allie said. "They really are."

x

After the parade, the family went back to Kurt and Blaine's townhouse for Thanksgiving dinner. Kurt, Rachel, Carole, Blaine's mom and Blaine's sister-in-law had made Thanksgiving dinner last night. (Blaine's brother Cooper came into New York as well with his wife Jenny, their son Noah and their daughter Ellie.)

"So, Allie, did you enjoy your first Thanksgiving day parade?" Carole asked.

"Yeah," Allie said. "It was really cool."

"Rachel really liked the parade when she was little, too," Hiram said.

"I did," Rachel said.

"So, you like New York, Allie?" Burt asked.

"Yeah," Allie said. "It was nice to meet Kurt and Blaine and the boys." She was really beginning to feel part of the family.

"Are you guys ready for dinner?" Kurt asked.

"Yeah!" Ryan said.

"The food's always really good," Emma told Allie.

Emma was right, the food was good. Thanksgiving was about being thankful, and while there had been some hard times this year, Allie was thankful that Finn, Rachel, Emma, Ryan and Sarah had been there for her these past few months, and that this amazing family had come into her life.

_Chapter 10 preview: Christmas season gets underway, and Finchel and their kids help Allie deal with not having her parents around at the holiday season. Rachel also goes to her first doctor's appointment. Any guesses as to the gender of the baby?_


	10. Chapter 10: Surprise and Christmas Tree

_Thanks for all your reviews on the last chapter! I really appreciated them! I'm sorry it took so long to update. One of my friends got married yesterday, and I was a bridesmaid, so I've barely had any time to breathe! (For any of you who might appreciate it, I caught the bouquet - so I guess I'm next!) To add to that, I went back to my parents' house for the wedding since they live closer to the city the wedding was in, and their internet was down._

_I won't lie, this chapter was kind of tough to write. It was hard to write about Allie's grief since I'm dealing with grief of my own. I hope I still did fine and that you review if you want me to continue!_

Chapter 10: A Surprise and a Christmas Tree

**"It's baby's first Christmas!"**

A one year old Allie giggled on the computer screen, as present day Allie watched the YouTube video on Finn and Rachel's computer. Sometimes, Allie went on the computer in the living room when everyone else was asleep and watched old videos on her deceased parents' YouTube account.

**"Look what Santa got you, Allie!" Allie watched her mother say to her as she led her to the pile of presents.**

**"Lots of cool stuff!" Allie's dad added from behind the camera.**

**Allie's six month old self giggled as her mom put her down. "So, Allie, what should we open first?"**

**Allie giggled and pointed at a big present. "That one?" her dad said. "Okay. You might need Mommy's help."**

**Allie's mom unwrapped the gift to reveal a stuffed rabbit. "It's a bunny!" her dad exclaimed.**

Now, Allie held the rabbit close to her. It was on her lap now. Every night since then, she'd slept with it. It was like a way of still being close to her parents. She gave the bunny a hug as she continued watching the video. This Christmas would be hard, there was no way around it.

Christmas had been a special time for her and her parents. Going Christmas shopping. Watching Christmas movies. Decorating the house. Getting and decorating the Christmas tree. Even though they had no other family, it was such a special time for the three of them. This year, she wouldn't get to spend time with her parents.

Allie finished watching the video. She did have school tomorrow, so she might as well go to bed. She remembered the special times she'd spent with her dad picking out gifts for her mom, and the special times she'd spent with her mom picking out gifts for her dad. She wished there was something she could do for them this year.

She yawned and went upstairs to her room, still thinking about her parents.

x

"Allie!"

It was the next morning. Allie looked up and saw Rachel standing by the side of her bed. "Hi Rachel."

"Sleep okay?" Rachel asked. "You look pretty tired."

"Yeah," Allie giggled. "I had trouble sleeping last night."

"Okay," Rachel said. "You okay now?"

"Yup," Allie said, remembering what she did last night. She didn't think now was the right time to talk about it now.

"Good," Rachel told Allie. "Now, I just wanted to let you know, Finn and I have to go to a doctor's appointment after school today, so Ava's mom is picking all three of you up from Cambridge."

"So I'll go to Ava's?" Allie asked.

Rachel nodded. "Is that okay?"

"Yeah," Allie said.

"Good," Rachel said. "And Allie, Finn and I were thinking we'd go shopping for a Christmas tree after we get you guys from Ava's. Would you like that?"

Allie smiled. She loved going Christmas tree shopping. "Yeah!"

Rachel smiled back. "Good!"

x

After school that day, Finn and Rachel sat in the doctor's office. "Do you think Allie will be okay with this?" Finn asked.

Rachel looked at Finn. "I'm sure she will." They'd already added one kid to their family, and now another was on the way. Having so many kids would be tough, but they knew they could do it.

The doctor came out. "Rachel Hudson?"

Rachel and Finn stood up and walked to the back of the room. They'd estimated that Rachel was about two months along, so it would be about another two months before they'd find out the gender. Even though they both wanted to know, they were simply excited to see their baby.

"How's your wife doing?" the doctor asked Finn as they sat down.

"Everything's going great," Rachel said as she rolled up her shirt.

"So, do you have other children?" the doctor asked.

Finn nodded. "We have a nine year old girl, a seven year old boy, a seven year old girl and a three year old girl." It felt so good to finally mention all four of the kids.

"That's great," the doctor said as she put gel on Rachel's stomach and began scanning it. She seemed to be carefully examining the screen.

"Is something wrong?" Finn asked as he nervously grabbed Rachel's hand. Nothing could be wrong, right?

"Are your seven year olds twins?" the doctor asked.

Finn and Rachel both nodded.

"It looks like you have another set of twins on the way," the doctor said.

Another set of twins? "This isn't what we were expecting," Rachel managed to say. But they loved their kids and they were sure the kids they had now would love these twins.

"It's too early to be able to tell if they're boys or girls, or identical or fraternal," the doctor said.

"Wow," Rachel said. "I can't believe it. We'll have six kids!"

"We'll also need to look for a bigger house," Finn said.

"I know, but we can do this," Rachel said confidently.

They watched the sonogram for a few more minutes before the doctor went to print some photos. Then they went to Ava's house to pick the kids up. Ava's mom, Catherine, answered the door. "Were the kids good?" Finn asked.

"Yeah, they were great," Catherine said. "Ryan's watching cartoons with Sarah, and Allie and Emma are upstairs with Ava."

"We have a surprise for them," Rachel said.

"You do?" Ryan said from the living room. "You already found out it was a boy?"

"Well, we don't know the gender," Rachel said as Catherine went upstairs to get the girls.

"How's the baby?" Sarah asked as she came over.

Finn and Rachel resisted the urge to say that there were two. Finally, Allie and Emma came down with Ava.

"Well, would you guys like to know how our appointment went?" Rachel asked.

"Duh!" Ryan said.

"Well," Finn said as he held up the sonogram, "it's twins."

"There's two?" Emma asked.

"Yeah, there's two," Rachel said.

"Like Emma and Ryan!" Sarah said.

"Yeah, like Emma and Ryan," Finn said. "Though these could be two girls or two boys instead of a boy and a girl."

"I hope they're two boys!" Ryan said.

"We all know you want a brother," Emma said.

"Even I know that," Ava added.

"Don't you want a brother or sister, Ava?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah," Ava said, looking at her mom.

"I'll talk to your dad," Catherine said.

"Yay!" Ava said.

"Thanks for watching them, Catherine," Rachel said. "We should get home now."

"We're getting the Christmas tree, right?" Allie asked.

Finn and Rachel both felt relieved when Allie talked. She hadn't said anything about the baby, but she must not have been completely upset if she still wanted to get a tree. "Of course!" Finn said.

"Yay!" Sarah said. The family said goodbye to Ava and her mom and got in the car to drive to the farm.

"Allie, did you get big Christmas trees at your old house, too?" Ryan asked.

"Ryan, maybe it's too hard for her to talk about that," Finn said. He couldn't help himself.

"It's fine," Allie said. "Yeah, we did. We'd go to the garden store and get it."

"We go to a tree farm for ours!" Emma said.

Allie's face lit up. "You do?"

"Yeah, we do," Finn said.

"That's so cool!" Allie said.

"It is," Ryan agreed. The family listened to Christmas music as they drove to the tree farm. Finally, they arrived at the farm, and Sarah bolted out of the car right away.

"Whoa there Sarah, slow down!" Finn said as he ran after his youngest daughter.

"Of course she's excited!" Allie said to Rachel.

"That's true," Rachel said. "I know this is your first Christmas with us, so if there's anything in particular you want to do, just let Finn and me know, and we'll do it."

"Can we have hot chocolate when we decorate the tree?" Allie asked.

"Of course!" Rachel said.

"Come on Mom! Come on Allie!" Ryan and Emma had caught up with Finn and Sarah, and had already begun looking at trees.

After about half an hour of looking, the Hudson family picked out an eight foot Douglas Fir tree and strapped it to the roof of their car to drive home. They decorated the tree when they got home and then sat by the tree.

Toward the end of decorating, Allie ran upstairs. Finn and Rachel exchanged a concerned look, worried something had upset her. Before they had much of a chance to worry, Allie came back downstairs with a small box. "These are some ornaments Mom and Dad put on the tree," Allie said softly. "Is it okay if I put them on ours?"

"Of course," Finn said.

Allie began putting the ornaments on. "This is a first Christmas ornament, like the ones you have for Ryan, Emma and Sarah."

"Very nice," Rachel said.

"I'm really going to miss my mom and dad at Christmas this year," Allie said softly.

"I'm sure you will," Rachel said, putting her arms around Allie.

"I love you all, but I miss them," Allie said.

"I'd be worried if you DIDN'T miss them," Finn said.

"If you want, we'll take you to Columbus to visit with them," Rachel added.

"Thank you," Allie said. "Can we maybe watch a Christmas movie?"

"Of course we can," Finn said. All they really wanted was to make Allie comfortable.

"Charlie Brown?" Sarah asked.

"I like that one," Allie said.

"Yeah, me too," Ryan said.

"So do I," Emma said.

"Then I guess that's what we'll watch," Rachel said as she put the DVD in the DVD player. Finn and Rachel were both worried about Allie. It was her first Christmas without her parents, and she was clearly afraid to talk about it. She was young enough that she was easily distracted, but at the same time, she wasn't too young to really feel the pain.

_Chapter 11 preview: Finn, Rachel, Allie, Ryan, Emma and Sarah celebrate Christmas together._

_So Rachel is having twins! Any guesses for if it's two boys, two girls or one of each? And what do you think their names will be? The first person to guess gets to choose the next Gleeks to appear!_


	11. Chapter 11: Christmas

_Thanks so much for all your reviews! I think this is my favorite chapter I've written so far! Since I'm sure it's been a hard few days for us, with Glee starting up without Cory and spoilers being leaked without him there, I wanted to make this chapter a happy one. Hope you enjoy it and review if you want me to keep going._

Chapter 11: Christmas

"Finn! Rachel!" Finn felt a nudge and looked up and saw Allie. He wasn't expecting to see her so happy today, but he wasn't complaining.

"It's Christmas!" Allie said.

Finn sat up. "Yes it is." He gave Allie a hug. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas Finn!" Allie said, returning the hug, then giving Rachel one. "Merry Christmas Rachel."

"Merry Christmas Allie," Rachel said. "Should we go wake up your brother and sisters?"

"Yeah!" Allie said with a smile.

"Let's go get them," Rachel said as she put on her robe and handed Finn his. They went to Emma and Sarah's room, and Allie nudged both her sisters. "Wake up, guys!"

"It's Christmas!" Sarah said.

"Yes it is!" Rachel said proudly.

"Merry Christmas Mommy, merry Christmas Daddy!" Emma said as she hugged both her parents.

"I think you guys got some good presents!" Rachel said.

"Santa told you?" Sarah asked.

Finn nodded. "Yup, he did. Now, let's go get Ryan."

They went down the hall to Ryan's room to wake him up. It was about six in the morning. Usually Ryan, Emma and Sarah didn't get up until about seven or eight on Christmas morning, but apparently Allie got up earlier.

"Can we go see our presents?" Ryan asked.

"Of course!" Finn said.

"Let's go," Allie said, taking Sarah's hand and running down the stairs with her. Ryan and Emma followed close behind.

"The presents!" Emma exclaimed when they got downstairs. There was a pile for each of the four kids, and all four stockings were full.

"That's the biggest piles we've ever had!" Ryan said. "Where's the DVD?"

Allie looked at Finn and Rachel. "What DVD?"

Finn looked at the empty plate that they'd used for the cookies by the tree and picked up a DVD. "Here it is. Allie, we wanted to surprise you on Christmas morning, but every year on Christmas, Santa videotapes himself leaving presents for you guys."

Allie smiled so wide. "That is so cool!"

"Yes it is," Rachel agreed as Finn put the DVD in the DVD player. The tape began with walking up to the Hudsons' doorstep in the snow, with their outdoor decorations lit up. The door opened, and the dark living room was revealed. The tree lights then turned on, and the camera flashed to the plate of cookies and milk. Rachel, Allie and Emma had made those cookies yesterday, and they would be giving the rest of them to the family when they came over later today. The cookies slowly disappeared, and the video continued to show presents being put in the various stockings and under the tree. Once all the presents had been laid out, the video moved outside the house and reindeer prints were shown in the snow. Then bells were heard jingling, and the video moved up to the night sky. Finally, a deep voice said, "Allie, Emma, Ryan and Sarah - you've been great kids all year and I hope you have a very Merry Christmas!"

"That was Santa!" Ryan said.

"He always does leave a message for you guys at the end," Rachel said.

"That is so cool!" Allie said. "He didn't leave videos like that for me at my old house."

"Well, Finn and I did ask him to leave that for our kids," Rachel admitted.

Allie got a big smile. "That is so cool! Can we open our gifts now?"

"Of course you can," Finn said as all four kids broke into their piles of gifts. Finn and Rachel sat back and watched the kids open them. Allie and Emma each got an American Girl doll and several outfits for their doll, while Sarah got a Bitty Baby and some outfits for hers. Ryan got several different legos and sports jerseys, and the girls got some jewelry. Finn and Rachel had also given each kid books, movies, music and clothes catered to their interests.

"These are the best gifts ever!" Ryan said when the last gift was unwrapped.

"We'll be sure to tell Santa," Finn said.

"The four of us have something for you two," Allie said.

"You do?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah!" Emma said. All four kids went upstairs.

"I wonder what they got us?" Finn said to Rachel.

"We've already gotten the best Christmas present, in my opinion," Rachel said. "I don't know if it's Christmas that did this to her, but I haven't seen Allie this happy since she came to live with us."

"Neither have I," Finn said.

Finally, the kids came back downstairs with a wrapped package that looked like a board. "Merry Christmas from all four of us!" Emma giggled.

"I wonder what this is?" Finn said. He and Rachel took the wrapping paper off the package and saw a photoboard with photos of them with their kids from throughout the years. Allie had put a few pictures from the past few months on there and the photo from the day she was born as well. Finn didn't know what to say. This was such a nice gift from the kids.

"You guys made this?" Rachel asked.

"We did!" Ryan said. "We printed the pictures off the computer."

"They did, I helped tape them," Sarah said.

"Guys, these are great," Finn said as he looked at the photo board.

"It was my idea," Allie said.

"Really?" Finn asked. Allie really was warming up to them.

"Yeah!" Allie said.

"Thank you, all of you," Rachel said as she and Finn gave all four kids hugs.

"Would you like me to put on the Christmas music?" Finn asked.

"Yeah!" the kids said.

"And maybe go put on your Christmas clothes," Rachel said. "The family should get here soon."

"Their gift was so sweet," Rachel said to Finn as the kids went upstairs.

"I know," Finn said. "Want me to give you your present now?"

Rachel nodded. "I'd love that."

Finn handed Rachel three giftwrapped boxes. In one was a soundtrack from a Broadway show they'd seen over the summer that she'd enjoyed, in another was the DVD collection of the latest season of her favorite show and in the third was a gold necklace with five charms: one said "Finchel" on one side and had their wedding anniversary on the other, and each of the other's had each kid's name and the day they were born.

"Finn, these are perfect," Rachel said as she gave her husband a hug and a kiss. "Thank you. Wait till you see what I got you."

"You and the kids are my presents," Finn said.

"Well, I got you more then," Rachel said as she handed three packages to Finn.

Finn opened the packages. Rachel had gotten him a book written by one of his idols, tickets to see OSU play in one of the bowl games on New Year's Day and some new drumsticks.

"You are the best," Finn said as he hugged Rachel.

"No, you are!" Rachel said.

"Mommy, Daddy, can we eat some of the candy from our stockings while we wait for our family to get here?" Ryan asked.

Finn turned. He hadn't realized that the kids were back downstairs. "Of course."

"Really?" Allie asked.

"It is Christmas," Rachel said.

"Yay!" Sarah said as the kids started eating the chocolates and candy canes Finn and Rachel had put in their stockings. Finn and Rachel had put Christmas music, and they took some photos of the kids as they waited for the family to arrive. Finally, the doorbell rang, and Finn went to answer it and saw his brother, brother-in-law and nephews.

"Merry Christmas!" Finn said, giving Kurt, Blaine, Michael and Brendan hugs.

"Merry Christmas," Kurt said. "How are Rachel and the kids?"

"We had a great morning!" Finn said.

"Can we show Ryan our gifts?" Michael asked.

"I'm sure he'd love to see them," Finn said as he watched his two nephews go join his son. Right now, they were the closest things to brothers that Ryan had.

"So Allie had a good Christmas morning?" Blaine asked Finn.

Finn nodded. "I think she was the most enthusiastic. She woke us all up!"

"Really?" Blaine asked.

"Yeah," Finn said. "She also loved the video."

Rachel came over to Finn, Kurt and Blaine. "Hey Rach, how are those babies doing?" Kurt asked.

Rachel smiled. "They're great, but I just want to know the genders!"

"Yeah, so do I," Finn said as he put his arm around his wife.

"When will you find out?" Kurt asked.

"Probably at our February appointment," Rachel said.

Ryan, Emma, Sarah and Allie came over to Kurt and Blaine to say Merry Christmas, and then the four adults went into the kitchen to start getting Christmas dinner ready. Rather, Rachel and Kurt were making the dinner, and Finn and Blaine were doing what their spouses told them to do.

Once dinner was ready, the doorbell rang again, and Finn went to the door to see his mom, Burt and Rachel's dads. "I think this is the best your place has ever looked on Christmas," Carole said to Finn.

"Well, now that the kids are getting older, they really like going all out," Finn said.

"Where are the kids?" Burt asked.

"They're off playing with their gifts," Finn said.

Rachel, Kurt and Blaine came in. "Rachel, how are our other grandchildren?" Hiram asked.

"They're doing fine," Rachel said. "I can't believe on Christmas next year, we'll have six kids!"

"Hopefully we'll be in our bigger house by then," Finn said.

"We brought presents for all four of your kids, and also for Kurt and Blaine's sons," LeRoy said. "Maybe would they like to open them?"

"I'm sure they would," Finn said as he called out for the kids, who then came into the living room.

"Are you guys having a good Christmas?" Burt asked the kids.

"Oh, yes!" Ryan said.

"Allie, how's your first Christmas with Finn and Rachel going?" Hiram asked.

"It's great!" Allie said.

x

Christmas dinner was delicious, and Allie kept talking about how great the food was. The family exchanged presents and took photos after they ate, and the kids watched a movie before Kurt, Blaine, Michael and Brendan went to Lima for the evening to spend it with Blaine's parents. Eventually, Burt, Carole, Hiram and LeRoy left for their hotels for the evening, and Finn and Rachel had put Sarah to bed, and were getting the three older kids ready for bed. As they passed Allie's room, they heard her call out, "Finn! Rachel!"

Finn and Rachel went into Allie's room. "Thanks for such a great Christmas," Allie said. "This was the best one ever."

Finn gave Allie a hug. "This was the best one ever for Rachel and me, too."

"I'm really glad you guys are my other mom and dad," Allie said.

Finn squeezed Rachel's hand. "We're really glad you're our daughter. We love you."

"I love you too, both of you," Allie said.

"You have a lot of people who love you Allie," Finn said. "Me and Rachel, of course, but Ryan, Emma and Sarah, and your grandparents, and your uncles, and your cousins."

"And we have for the past nine years," Rachel added.

Allie gave them each a hug before they left. "I think this was a success," Rachel whispered to Finn.

"It definitely was!" Finn said.


	12. Chapter 12: Spelling Words

_Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter! I really enjoyed reading them, it was one of my favorites to write :) This is a pretty important chapter, something I know lots of my readers have been waiting a while for happens in it. I'd also like to thank my reader sweetlittlelaurathings for suggesting an idea for a plot that begins in this chapter. I'm sorry that there isn't much of Emma, Ryan and Sarah but they'll be in the coming chapters! Again, hope everyone enjoys and reviews if you want me to continue!_

Chapter 12: Spelling Words

The rest of the winter break was great for the Hudson family. Allie had spent a lot of time playing in the snow with Ryan, Emma and Sarah, as well as Michael and Brendan before the Hummel-Andersons went back to New York. She'd also enjoyed her new presents, and had even gone ice skating and sledding with Lindsay and Jessica. The first few weeks back at school went well, and Allie successfully finished her first semester at Cambridge.

Today was the first day of the second semester, and Allie was nervous for school today. Today, all the fourth graders would be taking quizzes to see what groups they'd be in for math and reading. At Allie's school, they divided the kids into three groups for math and reading. The "green group" were the most advanced, the "yellow group" was in the middle and the "red group" was having trouble. The teachers didn't tell them which group meant which, but everyone figured it out anyway. It was like a traffic light: green was the one with the most room to go, yellow moved more slowly and red was at the bottom.

Last semester, Allie was in the green group for all both math and reading, but at the end of the semester, she was starting to have trouble with her spelling words. She'd started to have trouble over reading winter break. Finn and Rachel had given her some books for Christmas, and sometimes she would misread words. Sometimes, she'd read one word as a synonym for it, such as reading "couch" as "sofa." Other times she'd read a word as one that had similar letters, for instance, reading "car" as "chair."

"Are you okay?" Rachel asked Allie at breakfast that morning.

"Yeah," Allie said.

"I know it's a new semester, but the first semester at a new school is usually the toughest," Rachel said.

"And you did pretty well!" Finn added.

"We haven't gotten my report card yet," Allie pointed out.

"I'm sure you did great," Finn said.

"I'm glad we don't have report cards yet," Ryan said.

"You will in fourth grade!" Allie teased her brother.

"Guys, I'm sure that Allie did great on her report card, and that Ryan and Emma will too when they get theirs," Rachel said.

"And me?" Sarah asked.

"And you," Rachel said. "You just don't need to worry about report cards for a while."

"Yeah, you don't even have to go to school all day yet," Allie said to Sarah. She had to admit, she loved having three siblings.

"I should probably take these three to Cambridge," Finn said to Rachel. "Have a good day."

"You too, all of you," Rachel said as Finn, Allie, Emma and Ryan began leaving for school.

x

"Okay everyone, here's your spelling test," Allie's teacher, Mrs. Copeland, said to the class as she handed out blank sheets of paper. Allie began to feel nervous. What if she couldn't stay in the top reading group?

Mrs. Copeland arrived at Allie's desk and put a sheet down on her paper. When the entire class had their sheets, Mrs. Copeland began to read off the list of the spelling words. Allie knew how to spell the first few, but when her teacher was about halfway through the list, she started to get confused.

"Catch," Mrs. Copeland said.

"That's easy enough," Allie thought to herself as she wrote c-a-c-h on her paper.

"System," Mrs. Copeland said.

Allie gulped. She didn't know how to spell that. Was it s-i-s? And did it end with i-m or e-m?

"Maneuver," Mrs. Copeland said.

It was another word, and Allie had no idea how to spell this. She looked at the boy who sat across from her, Jason. Jason was pretty smart, so maybe he knew how to spell this word. Allie did her best to look across the aisle without her teacher noticing.

"Allie," Mrs. Copeland said.

Allie gulped. She'd been caught. Lots of the other kids in the class gave Allie suspicious looks.

"Allie, you can go wait in the hall," Mrs. Copeland said. "We'll talk later."

Allie nodded nervously as she went into the hall. She didn't want to cheat. She hadn't been planning on looking at Jason's paper. It just - happened.

But she knew that cheating was wrong. At her old school, a student who'd cheated had been suspended for a day. And Finn and Rachel weren't going to be very happy when they found out about this.

A few minutes later, Mrs. Copeland came into the hall. "Allie, would you like to tell me why you were looking at Jason's paper?"

"I didn't mean to," Allie said.

"You didn't mean to?" Mrs. Copeland asked. "Then why did you look at it?"

"Well, I was so confused," Allie said. She knew there was no excuse for cheating. "I shouldn't have done it."

"You're right, you shouldn't have," Mrs. Copeland said. "Now, if this was a regular test, you'd automatically get a zero. But since the school requires us to give all students this test, you'll take a new one during recess, and as a punishment, you'll lose your recess for a week."

Allie nodded. She knew she couldn't argue with this.

"And Allie," Mrs. Copeland added, "I'm also going to have to let... the Hudsons know about what happened today."

"I know you will," Allie said. She was nervous about going home today. As she went back into the classroom, everyone was doing a worksheet. Allie sat down at her desk as Jessica tapped her shoulder. "What happened?" Jessica whispered.

Allie turned to her friend. "I'll explain it after school." She hoped that this wouldn't make her friends like her any less.

x

After school that day, Finn picked Allie, Ryan and Emma up. He seemed preoccupied by something, but he didn't say anything about the test to Allie. When they got home, Allie went off to do her homework, still feeling guilty about the test. She had a feeling her teacher had already called Finn and Rachel and told them.

Afraid to face anyone, Allie just went up to her room, attempting to avoid the confrontation she was sure was coming. When she was about halfway through her math homework, she heard a knock at the door. "Come in," she said, worried it was Finn or Rachel.

Instead, it was Emma. "Allie, can I borrow your scissors? I can't find mine."

"Of course," Allie said. "Emma, I need to tell you something."

"What?" Emma asked.

"I got in trouble at school today," Allie said.

Emma's eyes got big. "You did?"

"Yeah," Allie said. "I think your parents are mad at me."

"Why'd you get in trouble?" Emma asked. "You behave."

Allie reconsidered telling Emma about what happened. Before she had a chance, Finn and Rachel came into her room. "Emma, could you please leave for a few minutes?" Finn said. "Mommy and I need to have a talk with Allie."

"Okay," Emma said as she started to leave the room.

"Allie, I'm pretty sure you know what we're here to talk about," Rachel said when Emma was gone.

"I know," Allie said. "Finn, Rachel, I'm sorry I did it, I didn't want to do it, it's just that the words were so confusing and I was worried I'd get them wrong."

"Cheating is not right," Finn said. "Besides, the point of that quiz was to see which group you'd be best in."

"I don't want to be in the group for the stupid kids!" Allie said.

"You're not stupid!" Finn told his daughter.

"I know, but I'd feel stupid if I was in the red group!" Allie protested. "It's just that sometimes I read things wrong." Then she felt herself blurting out about how she sometimes misread words, even giving Finn and Rachel a few examples.

"I'll talk to your teacher about that," Rachel said. "Did you take the retest?"

"Yes, and I'm missing recess for a week," Allie pouted. "I didn't want to cheat!"

"We know, it's not like you to cheat," Finn said. "You have to remember though, there are school policies in place."

"I know," Allie said. That hadn't been as hard as she'd thought it would be. It was clear Finn and Rachel weren't happy, but at least they didn't make her feel any worse about what had happened.

x

Rachel had been surprised to hear about Allie looking at the boy's paper at school, but she had a feeling that there was a story behind it. Allie had confirmed that there was a story, and now Rachel was becoming suspicious that Allie might have a learning disability. After dinner that night, she e-mailed the school district's learning disability specialist, asking if Allie could be evaluated. She knew from experience that if Allie's teacher didn't listen to Allie's side of the story, the problem wouldn't get any better. She told Allie about the plan when she put her to bed that night. "Thank you for being honest with Finn and me," Rachel said. "I know being honest when you've done something wrong isn't always easy."

"If I lied, I'd just get in more trouble," Allie said.

"That's true," Rachel said. "Again, thank you for being honest." She started to leave.

"Mom?" Allie asked.

Rachel looked at Allie, she couldn't believe what she'd just heard. Allie gave her a confused look. "I mean Rachel... I'm sorry."

Rachel sat down on Allie's bed. She couldn't believe Allie was comfortable calling her Mom. "Sweetheart, what you call me is completely up to you. If you want to call me Mom, I'd love for you to call me that, but if you feel more comfortable calling me Rachel, I understand."

"I kind of want to start calling you Mom," Allie told Rachel.

Rachel felt tears coming into her eyes. "I'd love for you to call me Mom."

"I love you, Mom," Allie said.

"I love you too," Rachel said. "Good night." She gave her oldest daughter a hug before going to join Finn.

"What happened?" Finn asked.

"What do you mean?" Rachel asked.

"I know you, I can tell when you're thinking about something," Finn said.

"You know me too well," Rachel said as she gave Finn a kiss. "Allie called me Mom."

"She did?" Finn asked, getting a big smile.

"Yes," Rachel said proudly. "We were just talking about her day, and then she called me Mom."

"I told you she'd warm up to us," Finn said to Rachel.

"She really feels like part of the family now," Rachel said.

"She IS part of the family," Finn said.

"And I'm so glad she is," Rachel agreed.

x

Later that night, Rachel had gone to bed early because she got tired a lot during her pregnancy, so Finn was downstairs watching TV. He was happy that Allie had called Rachel Mom, and he was hoping that soon she'd call him Dad. As the football game went to commercial break, Finn heard someone coming downstairs. He turned and saw Allie.

"Hi Allie," Finn said.

"Hi Finn," Allie said.

"You okay?" Finn asked.

Allie sat down. "Finn, can I ask you something?"

Finn nodded as he moved closer to Allie. "Of course."

"Is it okay if I start calling you Dad?" Allie asked. "Rachel said I can call her Mom, and you and Rachel are my mom and dad, after all."

Finn was hoping this was coming. "Of course you can. It's like I told you, whatever you want to call me is fine, you can call me Finn or you can call me Dad."

"I love you, Dad," Allie said.

"I love you too," Finn said.

_Chapter 13 preview: Allie, Finn and Rachel meet with the learning disabilities specialist. Rachel and Finn find out the genders of the babies. More of Allie with Ryan, Emma and Sarah._


	13. Chapter 13: A Different Way

_Thanks so much for all your support of the fanfic. I really appreciate them, they've all been so nice. Again, thanks to Laura for suggesting this idea. Allie's test is based off the one I took when I was tested. As for Finn having ADD - I always suspected he had it, but it was never confirmed on the show. Enjoy the chapter and don't forget to review :)_

Chapter 13: A Different Way

"I don't want to do this," Allie moaned as she, Finn and Rachel sat in the school district's board of education building's waiting area. She had told Lindsay and Jessica not to tell anyone about her cheating on the test, but a girl in her class overheard her telling her two friends, and that girl had told everyone in the class. "Everyone already knows I'm a cheater, why bother punishing me more?"

"We're not punishing you," Finn said.

"We know you're not the type who'd just cheat," Rachel said. "Remember what I told you? We're just making sure everything's okay."

Allie sighed. "Okay."

A woman who looked like she was in her thirties came out. "Is this Allie?"

"Yeah, I'm Allie," Allie said.

"I'm Ms. Thornberry, the school district's special education coordinator," the woman said as Allie's heart skipped a beat. Special education?

"Thanks for meeting with us today," Finn said.

"Allie, would you like your parents with us while we talk?" Ms. Thornberry asked.

Allie nodded. "Yes, please." Having Finn and Rachel with her might make things feel a little better.

She followed the adults down the hall and sat down in the woman's office. "So, Allie, I heard about what happened with your test," Ms. Thornberry said.

"Yes, and I said I just was having trouble with the words," Allie said. "I wasn't trying to look at Jason's paper, it just happened. I wanted to do well. I want to be in groups with the smart kids."

"I'm sure you're plenty smart," Ms. Thornberry said. "I'm just going to go over a few things with you."

"Okay," Allie said.

"We'll be right here," Rachel said as she put her arm around Allie.

"Thanks, Mom," Allie said.

Another list of twenty words was read. Allie was sure that she recognized some of these words from the last list. She had her parents and the district's special education director with her, and there were no papers to look at this time. But this time, she didn't want to look at another paper.

After having to spell out the words, Ms. Thornberry held up flashcards with some words on them, and Allie had to say the words. Then she had to rearrange a group of words in alphabetical order.

The hardest part for her was when she was given a list of words to look at for a few minutes and then write down as many as she could remember. There was a long list of words, but she could only remember a few of them. After having to rearrange some shapes and numbers, Allie was sent back to the waiting room while Finn and Rachel talked to Ms. Thornberry.

As she waited for Finn and Rachel, Allie did some thinking. Maybe she was different. School had always been unpredictable for her, and being in a new school district and losing the man and woman who'd raised her for the first nine years of her life definitely weren't easy things to deal with. Maybe now, her difficulties in school couldn't be held in anymore.

"Hey, you ready to go home?" Allie looked up and saw Finn and Rachel.

"Yeah," Allie said. "I want to go home."

Quietly, Finn, Rachel and Allie left the board of education building. "What did she say?" Allie asked.

"It's what I suspected when you told me about that test," Rachel said. "You have a learning disability."

"You're a smart girl," Finn added. "Don't think that you aren't. Your brain just has a different way of working."

"So, I don't have to go back to third grade, right?" Allie asked.

"Of course you don't," Finn said. "You have what's called dyslexia. It means you can mix up your letters easily, and that reading's tough for you."

"So, what's going to happen?" Allie asked.

"She's going to call your school, and you are going to be meeting with a tutor twice a week," Rachel said. "That way you can get some extra help."

"A tutor?" Allie gasped.

"Allie, you said you wanted to be in the highest level groups for reading and math, right?" Rachel asked.

"Well... yes," Allie said.

"She thinks that if you meet with the tutor, you can succeed in the top groups in math and reading," Finn said.

"I'm sorry," Allie said.

"You know, I have a learning disability, too," Finn told Allie.

Allie looked at Finn. "Really?"

"Yeah, I have ADD," Finn continued. "That means it's hard for me to stay focused. It wasn't discovered until I was in high school, but it was after we found out I had ADD and I started getting help that I started doing well in school."

"So don't give up, Allie," Rachel said.

"Should we go get Ryan, Emma and Sarah from Nick's house?" Allie asked.

"Yeah, we probably should," Rachel agreed.

x

"And the green group for this semester will be Jason, Dan, Ed, David, Shane, Leslie, Stephanie, Lindsay, Jessica and Allie," Mrs. Copeland said the next day.

Allie sighed with relief. The learning disabilities specialist and her parents had told her teacher that they thought she could succeed in the highest level group, and the teacher had believed them. Her teacher wasn't letting the disability define her.

"Why'd you put the cheater with the smart kids?" Ed said, giving Allie a mean look. Allie knew she didn't like this boy. She hadn't liked him since the first day she'd been at Cambridge. He'd bragged about how his dad was the mayor of University Heights.

"That would be enough," Mrs. Copeland said.

"He's such a jerk," Lindsay whispered to Allie.

"Yeah, he is," Allie whispered back. At lunch she'd tell her friends that they'd discovered she wasn't stupid, she just had a different way of learning things.

Mrs. Copeland read the list of the yellow and red groups before the bell rang for the fourth graders to go to lunch. "Thanks for still being my friends," Allie said to Lindsay and Jessica as they started to walk to the cafeteria.

"Of course we're your friends, you're nice," Jessica said.

"Yesterday my parents took me to meet someone who knows about different types of learning, and they told me I'm not stupid," Allie explained. "I just have dyslexia. It means my brain works differently."

"Of course you're not stupid," Lindsay said.

Allie smiled at her friends. "Maybe you guys could come over this weekend?"

"I'll ask my parents," Jessica said.

"Yeah, me too!" Lindsay added.

x

Allie had to stay after school that day for orchestra rehearsal, so by the time she got home, both Finn and Rachel were there. She walked in to find them in the kitchen. "Mom, Dad, I'm in the top group for both math and reading!" Allie announced.

"That's great, sweetheart," Finn said.

"See, we told you that you could handle it," Rachel said.

"Thank you for thinking that," Allie said.

"Allie, we meant to tell you, today your mom has a doctor's appointment," Finn said. "One of our friends will be here soon to watch you and your siblings."

"Okay," Allie said. "I'll be good, I promise."

x

Rachel looked out the window as Finn drove her to the doctor's office. She couldn't believe that she wasn't even thirty and babies five and six were on the way. "So, what do you think they are?" she asked Finn.

"I have a feeling it's a boy and a girl," Finn said. "What about you?"

"Boys," Rachel said. "Then, it'd be three boys and three girls."

"Hard to believe we'll have six kids," Finn said.

"I know!" Rachel agreed. The drive to the hospital was quiet until they arrived. Rachel knew that it was pure luck that they had six kids. Allie had only came back into their lives recently, and they weren't planning on having twins either time. Had things gone differently, this would only be kid #3. But Rachel couldn't be happier.

Finn and Rachel went into the waiting room of the hospital and took their seats before the doctor called them into the room. The doctor put gel on Rachel's stomach and waved her wand over it, and Finn and Rachel both stared at the screen. Their babies were growing.

"They seem to be doing fine," the doctor said. "Would you like to know the genders?"

"Yes," Finn and Rachel both said.

The doctor looked closely at one side of the sonogram, then pointed at the right side of Rachel's stomach. "Okay, this one's a boy."

Finn kissed Rachel's hand. "Ryan's going to get his brother!"

Rachel was planning to say the same thing. She and Finn had a way of reading each other's minds. "He'll be so excited!"

The doctor looked at the sonogram some more. "And your other one is a girl."

Rachel smirked at Finn. "We still outnumber you boys."

Finn laughed. "Well, look who was right."

"You always are," Rachel pouted.

x

"Ryan, would you like some tea?" Sarah asked. Right now, Allie and Emma had agreed to have a tea party with Sarah, and they'd convinced Ryan to join them.

"I want to play with my legos," Ryan pouted.

"You don't want to disappoint your little baby sister!" Allie teased her brother.

"Okay, Sarah, I'll have some tea," Ryan said.

Sarah giggled as she pretended to pour some tea for Ryan. "Emma, would you like some?"

"Of course, I love tea," Emma said.

Sarah pretended to pour tea into Emma's cup. "Allie, want some too?"

"I would love some," Allie said.

Sarah pretended to pour tea into Allie's cup and then into her own. She then held up her tea cup and held it up. "Cheers!"

Allie and Emma held theirs up too as Ryan reluctantly held his up and the four siblings clicked their teacups together. "Cheers!"

"Isn't the tea good?" Sarah asked.

"The best I've ever had!" Emma said.

"Yeah, it's fine," Ryan mumbled.

The siblings heard the door open. "Mommy! Daddy!" Sarah exclaimed.

"Hey, guys!" Rachel said. "Were you good for our friend?"

"Yeah, we were just having a tea party," Allie giggled. "Ryan, too."

"Ryan too?" Finn asked, giving his son a look.

"I hope one of the babies is a boy for me to do boy stuff with!" Ryan said.

"What are they?" Emma asked.

"Well, Ryan, you are getting your brother," Finn said.

"YES!" Ryan cheered.

"I wanted a sister," Sarah said.

"You already have two," Ryan said to Sarah.

"Well, you're getting a sister, too," Rachel said.

"So we get one of each?" Emma asked. She smiled at Allie. "That's so cool!"

Allie smiled. "Yes!" She still wasn't sure if she was ready to add two more babies - but she had to admit, one of each would be pretty cool. Maybe having more siblings would be fun. She did love Ryan, Emma and Sarah.

_Chapter 14 preview: Finn and Rachel tell Allie some things about their past. Allie starts with the tutor. The Hudsons do a family thing where friends come along - meaning appearances of Nick and Ava, and little!Nicma and little!Ryva moments._


	14. Chapter 14: Sore Throat

_Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter. I really enjoyed reading them! This was a fun chapter to write, because I got to write my OC OTPs. Since they're seven in this, I couldn't write too much stuff, but I put in as much subtext as you can expect for seven year olds. And of course, I also love writing Allie with Finn, Rachel, Ryan, Emma and Sarah. Hope you like this chapter and don't forget to review!_

Chapter 14: Sore Throat

Allie woke up and noticed that her throat was hurting. Someone in her class at school had gotten strep throat last week, so maybe she had it. It was the middle of the night and she didn't want to wake anyone up, so she tiptoed downstairs and into the kitchen to get some water. As she went upstairs, she heard a voice. "Allie?"

Allie turned and saw Rachel. "I'm sorry, Mom. My throat hurts and I wanted to get some water." It hurt for her to talk, and she noticed that her voice sounded croaky.

"You don't sound well at all, honey," Rachel said. "Go back to bed, I'll call off work so I can be with you today."

"Thanks, Mom," Allie croaked. She went back to bed and fell asleep.

x

A few hours later, Allie felt herself being nudged. She looked up and saw Sarah. "Hey," Allie said.

"You okay, Allie?" Sarah asked.

"I'm sick, but I'll get better," Allie said. "Is Mom home?"

"Mommy's home," Sarah said.

"Sarah, I told you to stay out of Allie's room," Rachel said, coming in.

"It's okay, I like having my little baby sister with me," Allie said, smiling at Sarah.

"Well, I do have to take Sarah to preschool soon," Rachel said. "I made you some tea with honey and lemon and some chicken soup. Will you be okay for ten minutes while I take Sarah?"

Allie gave Rachel a smile. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

"Feel better, Allie," Sarah said as she left.

Allie smiled. "Thanks Sarah." To be honest, Allie was a bit relieved she didn't have to go to school today. Today was the day she would have started with the tutor. After Rachel and Sarah left, Allie went downstairs and put in a DVD in the DVD player. She watched the movie until Rachel got home. "Hey, how are you?" Rachel asked.

"Can I have some more tea?" Allie asked.

"Of course," Rachel said. "May I watch the movie with you?"

Allie giggled. "Duh!"

Rachel made Allie some tea and then they watched the movie together. After the movie, they heard the door unlock. It was Finn, home on his lunch break.

"Dad, what are you doing here?" Allie managed to say.

"Oh, your voice," Finn said. "Your mom called me and told me that you were sick, so I thought I'd come visit you."

Allie smiled.

"I brought some ice cream," Finn said.

"Thanks Dad!" Allie said. "Mom's been taking good care of me."

"I'm sure she is," Finn said as he kissed Rachel and joined Rachel and Allie on the couch.

Allie looked at Rachel's growing stomach. "Mom, how are the babies?"

"They're fine, I think they're sleeping now," Rachel said.

"What are their names going to be?" Allie asked.

Finn and Rachel shared a look. "We kind of want to surprise everyone with that."

"I want to know," Allie pouted.

"You should be saving your voice, young lady," Finn said jokingly. "And your mom and I haven't made the final decision with names, though I think we're pretty close to deciding."

"When we were expecting you, even though we knew you wouldn't live with us at first, we were thinking about names," Rachel said. "And actually, one of the names we considered was Allie!"

Allie giggled. "That's cool!"

"It is," Finn agreed. "And we did give your mom and dad a note saying we wanted Faith to be the middle name, after our song Faithfully. That way you could have a little piece of us with you."

Allie never knew that. "Wow, I didn't know."

"We do like to think you brought us good luck at Nationals our senior year," Rachel told Allie. "I could feel you kicking at the end of our performance, and I was sure that meant that you'd liked it. And then I felt you kicking when we found out we won."

"That was my way of saying you did a good job," Allie giggled.

Rachel nodded. "It was."

"So you two have been in love since you were fifteen?" Allie asked.

"Yeah, pretty much," Rachel said. "I'm pretty sure I freaked your dad out at our first Glee rehearsal though."

"I knew she was the one when we sang Don't Stop Believing together for the first time though," Finn retorted.

"Awww," Rachel swooned. Allie giggled.

"Of course one of my favorite memories of your mom and me is when we kissed on the stage at Nationals our junior year," Finn said. "We'd been broken up for a few months and I wrote a song for us to sing at Nationals..."

"You told me about that," Allie said. "She just kissed you at the end!" She had to admit, that story was pretty cool.

"That's right," Rachel said.

"I'd like to meet your other friends from Glee," Allie said.

"You'll meet them when we go to Nationals in Atlanta in May," Rachel said.

"That'll be fun," Allie said.

"Our old Glee club will probably win again," Finn said. "They always do."

"Hey, the club I coach usually does pretty well, too!" Rachel said.

"Who do you guys want to win?" Allie asked.

"We want a tie," Finn said as he and Rachel both laughed.

"Maybe when I'm in high school I can play music for the Gold Stars," Allie said.

"I'm sure they'd like that," Rachel said. "You know, the high school has a really good orchestra, too."

"Yeah, they go on tour every year and win awards," Finn added.

"Do they ever play music for the Gold Stars to sing to?" Allie asked.

"They often do," Rachel said. "They don't at competitions, but they do at concerts sometimes, and they do for the non-competitive show choirs too."

"That's cool," Allie said.

Finn, Rachel and Allie spent some more time talking together before Finn had to go back to work and Rachel had to go pick Sarah up from preschool.

x

A few days later, Allie returned to school. She had enjoyed spending time with Finn and Rachel while she was sick, but she had to admit that being sick was no fun, and in a way, she was glad to be back in school. There was one thing she was nervous about though: the day she went back, she'd be starting with the tutor. To make matters worse, she'd miss recess once a week to meet with the tutor. At the end of lunch, Allie reluctantly said goodbye to Lindsay and Jessica and went to the library, where the tutor was waiting.

"You're Allie?" the tutor asked. "I'm Mrs. Gallagher."

"Yeah," Allie said, taking a seat.

"So, Allie, I heard you have dyslexia," Mrs. Gallagher said.

"Yeah," Allie said. "I can't even spell that. The other kids won't see that we're here, right?"

"They're at the playground, and we're here," the tutor pointed out.

Allie groaned as she thought about how she would rather be on the playground. The other kids in the class had finally stopped talking about her cheating on the test, she didn't want them to get another reason to make fun of her. She just hoped none of them would come in and pass the library and see her here.

"So, it was my spelling test that I cheated on," Allie said. She felt like she had to bring up the cheating, it would be brought up sooner or later. "Here are my spelling words for this week."

"Okay, let's go over them," Mrs. Gallagher said, taking the list out of Allie's hand. "Minute."

"M-i-n-i-t-e," Allie said.

"Allie, it's m-i-n-u-t-e," Mrs. Gallagher corrected.

Allie pouted. Why was the school having her meet with the tutor? Maybe her learning disability would just hold her up and there was no point. But then Mrs. Gallagher said the next word. "Cough."

"C-o-u-g-h," Allie said.

"That's right, and kids with no learning disabilities sometimes had trouble with that one," Mrs. Gallagher told Allie.

That made Allie feel better. Maybe she wasn't doomed.

x

"So, how was the tutor?" Finn asked Allie quietly when he picked Allie, Emma and Ryan up from school. Emma and Ryan weren't out quite yet, and Allie had asked Finn and Rachel not to talk about Allie's disability or the meeting with the tutor in front of her siblings. Besides, now probably wasn't the best time to talk about it. They were going to a traveling show of Beauty and the Beast in downtown Cleveland tonight, and Allie didn't want to ruin the mood. Finn and Rachel had agreed to let her bring both Lindsay and Jessica along. Ryan was bringing Nick and Emma was bringing Ava. The family would be leaving for the show soon after Rachel got home.

"It was okay," Allie sighed. "I wish I didn't have to go to the tutor."

"I know you don't want to go to the tutor, but she'll help you," Finn told his daughter. "Maybe she'll be able to help you do better in your hard classes."

"Maybe," Allie said. "I just wish I could be at recess with my friends."

"Allie, it'll get better," Finn said as Emma and Ryan came to the car. Allie knew that now it was time to stop talking about her academic issues.

"I'm excited for the show tonight!" Emma said.

"Yeah, your mom thought it would be a good kid-friendly show to take you guys to," Finn said. "You know how much she loves musicals!"

"I come?" Sarah asked.

"Sarah, we talked about this, it's a little too late for you," Finn said. The family got home, and the three older kids were watching TV when the doorbell rang. Finn went to answer it and Ava came in. "Hi Ava!" Ryan said.

"Hi Emma, hi Allie, hi Ryan," Ava said as she sat with them on the couch.

"Are you excited for the show?" Emma asked her friend.

"Yeah!" Ava said.

"I like the candle," Ryan said. "He's so funny!"

"Yeah, I like the candle, too," Ava said.

"The clock's cool, too," Emma said.

"Yeah, they're the two best characters, I think," Allie said.

Shortly after, Nick arrived. "Good, I won't be the only boy!" Ryan said to his friend. "Emma's bringing Ava, and Allie's bringing two friends."

"Your sisters are nice, Ryan," Nick said.

"Yeah, we are nice," Allie teased. "And you will have a brother in a few months."

"Well, you were partners with Emma when the teacher made us partner up with a girl in class today," Ryan said to Nick.

"Well, you were with Ava," Emma said to her brother.

Allie laughed at her younger siblings and their friends. Her friends arrived a few minutes later and then the family headed downtown. Between going to see a live musical and hearing stories about Finn and Rachel's past, Allie was getting to know her birth parents more and more, and she loved it.

_Chapter 15 preview: Some kids in Allie's class finds out she's seeing a tutor, and she has her first test since being diagnosed with dyslexia. Allie also gets to meet Santana, Brittany and their kids._


	15. Chapter 15: Secret's Out

_Wow! I can't believe this has nearly 200 reviews! I appreciate each and every one of them. I'm sorry my updates have been less consistent lately. I do have my job, of course, and sometimes I'm feeling too emotionally drained after everything that's happened lately to write. I'm sorry for always taking about Cory in my author's notes, but this is a place where I feel safe talking about him, you know? Well, thanks as always for all the support, and don't forget to review if you want me to continue._

Chapter 15: Secret's Out

"Allie, spell camouflage."

Allie was sitting in the library meeting with the tutor. Tomorrow would be the first test she'd taken since she was diagnosed with the learning disability, and she was nervous. She'd asked to meet with her tutor twice this week to make sure she could do well on the spelling test.

Allie thought for a minute. "C-a-m-o-u-f-l-a-g-e."

"Very good," Mrs. Gallagher said. "You are improving."

Allie smiled. "Thanks."

Allie looked around the library, making sure none of her classmates had come in. As far as she knew, only Lindsay and Jessica knew she saw a tutor, and she didn't want that to change. She was getting to the age where there was a growing concern with reputation, where kids were beginning to look down on others to feel better about themselves. Even though she couldn't help that her brain worked differently, she knew that was the type of thing kids at her school would make fun of her for.

"Are you paying attention?" Mrs. Gallagher asked Allie. "I just gave you your next word."

"Oh, sorry," Allie said.

"Allie, you have your spelling test tomorrow," Mrs. Gallagher reminded her. "You should be paying attention. Spell helium."

Allie thought for a minute. "H-e-l-i-a-m."

"I'm sorry," Mrs. Gallagher said.

Allie groaned. So far she'd gotten all the words right, and it would have meant a lot to her to get 100 on the spelling test. "How do you spell it?"

"H-e-l-i-u-m."

"I was only one letter off!" Allie sighed.

"Exactly," Mrs. Gallagher said. "Try to remember that. Don't you see that you're doing better, now that you're putting in a little extra work and trying different methods?"

"I guess," Allie said. Then out of the corner of her eye, she saw something. She saw one of the girls from her class, Jordin. Allie didn't get along with Jordin, and Jordin had been annoyed that Allie had been put in the green group, while she'd only been put in the yellow group.

"I'll give you another one," Mrs. Gallagher said, clearly not noticing that Allie saw something. "Compassion."

"C-o-m-p-a-s-s-i-o-n," Allie said. At least that's how she thought it was spelled.

"That's correct," Mrs. Gallagher said. "Good job, Allie."

"Thanks," Allie said, hoping Jordin hadn't figured out why she was in the library during recess. It wasn't too hard to figure out.

At the end of the tutoring session, Allie went back to the classroom. When she arrived, the kids were asked to practice their math facts. Shortly after she got back, Mrs. Copeland got a phone call. When the teacher answered the phone, Jordin turned to Allie. "Allie, why were you in the library at recess?"

Allie had to think of an answer, quick. "I was just doing my homework."

"Can't you do your homework at home?" Jordin asked. Allie knew by the look on her classmate's face that she knew why she was really there.

"I want to have time for fun at home," Allie said.

"Maybe it's her punishment for cheating on the test!" Ed said.

"No, it's not!" Jessica said, coming to her friend's defense. Allie gave Jessica a look, hoping that she wouldn't say anything else about the tutor.

"I don't understand why someone like you is in the green group," Jordin said. "I should be in the green group."

"Shut up, Jordin," said Lindsay.

"I was just meeting with the tutor," Allie said. Then she regretted saying what she did. Word was out.

"You have a tutor?" Jordin asked.

Mrs. Copeland hung up the phone. "Why aren't you guys working on your math facts?"

"Ed and Jordin were bothering Allie," Jessica said.

"Did you know she sees a tutor, Mrs. Copeland?" Jordin said, smirking.

"Whether not someone sees a tutor is a private piece of information," Mrs. Copeland said.

"Allie told us!" Ed added.

"Only because they wouldn't stop bothering her," Lindsay confirmed.

"You two, leave Allie alone," Mrs. Copeland said. "This isn't the first time either of you have teased her. If there's any problems again, I will be sending you to the principal's office and letting her deal with it."

"Whatever," Jordin mumbled.

"That's enough," Mrs. Copeland said. "Everyone, work on their math facts in silence."

The class continued working. Allie was nervous about the test tomorrow, and embarrassed that she'd let the secret slip. Tomorrow would be proof: was it worth it to be working with a tutor?

x

Allie was glad to be going home that day. Today, she, Emma and Ryan were walking home together. It was relatively nice out for this time of year, and they knew the way to and back from school, so Finn and Rachel had agreed to let them walk home together today, just the three of them.

"Allie, do you ever get tired of gym?" Emma asked on the way home.

"Yeah," Allie said. "I'm not very good at sports."

"We had gym today and I pretended I twisted my ankle so I wouldn't have to participate," Emma said.

"Emma, you can't do that!" Ryan said.

"Well, you're good at sports!" Emma said. "I can't run, I can't kick and I can't catch. And I always get picked last unless Ryan, Ava or Nick is picking kids for the teams."

"I hate it when that happens," Allie said.

"Yeah, it stinks!" Emma said.

"I always pick you, Nick and Ava first," Ryan said.

"You have to, you're my brother, and he's your best friend, and she's my best friend," Emma said.

"I guess I took after Dad," Ryan said. "He's good at all sports. When we're in high school, I'm going to be #5, just like he was."

"Their high school was the Titans, right?" Allie asked, hoping she'd remembered correctly.

"Yeah," Ryan said. "And the high school we'll go to is the Tigers!"

The three of them arrived back at the house and knocked on the door, where Finn opened it. "Hi guys!" Finn said. "How was school today?"

"Some kids in my class found out I go to a tutor," Allie said.

"How'd they find out?" Finn asked, sitting down on the couch with Allie.

"Jordin and Ed were asking why I was in the library at recess and it just slipped out," Allie said.

"I know you don't like either of them," Finn said.

"I hate them!" Allie proclaimed. "They think I'm stupid."

"They're the stupid ones," Finn said. "Anyone who's mean to you is."

"Thanks Dad," Allie said.

"Oh, and I meant to tell you, Allie, you'll be meeting two of your aunts today," Finn said.

"Really?" Allie asked. "Who?"

"Aunt Santana and Aunt Brittany," Finn said. "Aunt Brittany's a talk show host and they're doing a segment here in Cleveland, so they'll be visiting us."

"That's cool," Allie said. She was excited to meet more of her parents' friends.

The doorbell rang, and Finn went to answer it. As Finn answered the door, Sarah ran up to the door and jumped into the blond woman's arms. The brunette stood next to her, with a baby in a carrier and holding hands with a girl a little smaller than Sarah.

"I missed you, Aunt Brittany!" Sarah said.

"I missed you too," Brittany said.

"What about me?" Santana asked.

"And you!" Sarah giggled.

"It's so good to see you two," Finn said, giving Santana and Brittany each a hug. "And the girls too, of course."

Santana looked over at Allie on the couch. "You must be Allie."

Allie smiled. "Yeah, I am. I've heard about you from my parents and siblings."

"It's good to meet you," Santana said. "I remember when your mom was expecting you, but none of us got to meet you!"

"Well, I'm glad I get to meet you now!" Allie said. She looked at the two little girls. "Are these your daughters?"

"Yes, this is Molly, she's almost three," Brittany said. "And this is Lily, she's going to be one this fall."

"Who's their dad?" Allie asked. She couldn't help herself.

Finn gave her a look. "Allie!"

"It's fine, Finn," Santana said. "Their dad's just a friend of ours who agreed to help us out when we decided to have kids."

"Molly, play with me?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah!" Molly said as the two of them left for Sarah's room. Then Rachel came in.

"Rachel, look at you!" Brittany said.

"And I still have a few months to go," Rachel said, hugging Santana and Brittany. "Lily's gotten so big!"

"Well, you haven't seen her since she was born!" Brittany said.

"She's so pretty," Rachel said. She turned to Allie. "So, your dad told me about what happened at school today..."

Allie gave her mom a look. "Yeah, I hope they don't bother me again."

"Do I need to go Lima Heights on someone?" Santana asked.

"What's Lima Heights?" Allie asked.

"It's a bad part of the town we grew up in," Santana explained. "Bad stuff happens there, and I know all about it. I'm prepared to go Lima Heights on anyone who gives my niece shit."

Allie smiled that Santana already considered her part of the Glee family. "Yes please! These two kids in my class..."

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea, Santana," Rachel said.

Allie pouted. "Mom!"

"Your dad told me, the teacher gave them a warning, right?" Rachel asked.

"Yes," Allie admitted.

"Then we'll let the school handle it," Rachel said.

Santana leaned in and whispered to Allie. "If I meet them, I'll go Lima Heights, don't worry."

x

Allie's spelling test was the next day. In addition to meeting with the tutor, the district's learning disabilities specialist had instructed that Allie take her tests in a separate room with extended time. As she moved through her test, she tried to remember the words and the right way to spell them. She'd spent lots of time preparing, and she didn't want to blow it. She wanted to make Finn and Rachel proud of her, and she wanted to show the kids in her class who looked down on her that she could do it.

She got to helium, the word she'd spelled wrong with her tutor yesterday. Then she remembered the correct spelling. H-e-l-i-u-m. That was the last word. She read over the whole list, making sure every word was as close to correct as she could remember it being. The words all looked okay to her, so she took a deep breath, walked back to the classroom and handed the test to her teacher. "I did it," she said quietly. "And I think I did well."

_Chapter 16 preview: Allie finds out how she did on her test. The glee club Rachel leads goes to Regionals, and Finn, Allie, Emma, Ryan and Sarah go to cheer Rachel on. Finn also enlists the kids' help with a surprise for Rachel._


	16. Chapter 16: Gold Stars

_Thanks so much for 200 reviews! It means so much to me. There is a hint about the babies' names in this chapter, though the names will not be revealed until their birth. (People who've guessed correctly already know though!) Speaking of Glee, the new photos are so sad! Rachel should be going to those places with Finn, not to remember him. I feel so bad for Lea - she just doesn't seem like herself. And the way her haters are treating her makes me sick! Anyway, sorry for the ramble. Enjoy the chapter and review if you want me to keep going!_

Chapter 16: Gold Stars

"I must say, I was pretty disappointed in the results of last week's spelling test," Mrs. Copeland said as she walked through the classroom, handing back the test.

Allie sighed and looked at Jessica. She was sure she was among those that hadn't gotten a good score on the test. All the time with the tutor might not have made a difference.

"I'm sure you did fine," Jessica whispered to Allie. "You've been working really hard."

"Thanks," Allie whispered to her friend.

The teacher stopped at Jessica's desk. Allie saw the disappointed look on her friend's face. "I got a D," Jessica whispered to Allie.

Now Allie was even more nervous. Jessica was generally a pretty good student. Mrs. Copeland stopped at Allie's desk as Allie nervously turned the test over. Only one word was marked wrong. At the top of the test, her teacher had written "A - great job!"

"Did you do okay?" Jessica whispered to Allie.

"Yeah, I did pretty well," Allie said. She didn't want to talk about her A right now, because she was sure Jessica was disappointed in her own scores. She couldn't wait to tell Finn and Rachel after school though.

x

"You know I always like the kids to do at least one song we did when we were in Glee club for competitions," Rachel said as she and Finn sat in the living room. "So I thought I'd have them do Don't Stop Believing." Regionals were coming up soon, and she was pretty impressed with how the kids sounded.

"Our favorite," Finn said. "The first Finchel led group number."

"Of course!" Rachel said. "I have a really good feeling about Regionals this year."

"I'm sure they'll do well, they always do," Finn reminded his wife.

"Yeah, but this year they have to compete against Vocal Adrenaline," Rachel sighed. Even though New Directions had won Nationals every year since Finn and Rachel had graduated, Vocal Adrenaline was still a top contender, and the Gold Stars had never faced them at Regionals before. This could be the first year since Rachel took over that the Gold Stars wouldn't go to Nationals.

"Vocal Adrenaline's best days are behind them," Finn said. "Their reign pretty much ended after your mom left."

"They always beat us at Nationals," Rachel said. The Gold Stars hadn't even consistently made Regionals before Rachel took over, now they were going to Nationals every year.

"It'll be okay," Finn said.

The door opened, and Finn and Rachel watched Allie come in. Emma had gone to Ava's today, and Ryan had gone to Nick's, so they wouldn't be home for a while. Allie had also stayed late after school for orchestra practice.

"Mom, Dad, guess what?" Allie said.

"Tell us!" Finn said.

"I got an A on my spelling test!" Allie said proudly. She handed the test to her parents. Rachel looked at it, feeling so proud of her daughter.

"Great job!" Rachel said as she gave Allie a hug.

"Thanks, Mom!" Allie said.

"Rach, you should give Allie a gold star!" Finn said.

Rachel ran upstairs. "I guess that means she's getting me one," Allie said.

"You know how much your mom loves gold stars," Finn said.

Rachel came back downstairs with a sheet of gold star stickers and put one on Allie's test. "Gold star for you!"

"Thanks, Mom," Allie said.

"Remember when you put a gold star sticker next to your name every time you wrote it down?" Finn asked.

Rachel looked embarrassed. "Finn!"

"She did that?" Allie asked.

Rachel gave Finn a playful slap. "You had to tell her that?"

"I think that's funny," Allie giggled.

"Yeah, I thought it was cute," Finn said back.

Sarah came downstairs. "Allie, can you come play with me?"

"Sure!" Allie said. "I have time to play before I do my homework."

"I love how much Sarah loves Allie," Finn said to Rachel as they watched their oldest and youngest daughter go upstairs.

Rachel touched her baby bump. "I'm sure they'll be good big sisters to these little ones. Well, big brother in Ryan's case."

Finn reached into his bag. "That reminds me of something, I got something today."

Rachel got excited. "I want to see!"

Finn reached into his bag and pulled out two onesies. One was blue with a C on it and one was pink with an L on it.

"These are perfect!" Rachel said. "We shouldn't show them to the kids just yet though, we do want the names to be a surprise!" She and Finn had picked out names for the babies, but they wanted to keep them a surprise until after the babies were born.

x

That weekend, the Gold Stars were competing at Regionals. The regional competition was taking place at John Carroll University's auditorium, which was walking distance from the Hudsons' house. Rachel had needed to get there early, so Finn and the kids would get there later. It was fine with Finn, because he and the kids were planning a surprise for Rachel. He knew that the Gold Stars would beat Vocal Adrenaline, but Rachel wasn't so sure. Finn had seen the videos of Vocal Adrenaline's Sectionals, and their performance was nowhere near the level of that of the Gold Stars. Right now, Finn and the kids were decorating the dining room. He'd planned a post Regionals celebration to be held at their house and had e-mailed all the parents of the team members with their address, asking them to have their kids come over after the competition. He'd ordered pizza, drinks and a cake, and right now, he was hanging up gold streamers as Allie, Emma and Ryan tied gold balloons to strings.

"Daddy?" Ryan asked.

"What is it?" Finn asked, turning to his son.

"What if they lose Regionals?" Ryan asked.

Finn then thought he might be overly optimistic. "It would still be fun to have a party to celebrate a good season. They were pretty good at Sectionals, weren't they?"

"Yeah," Emma said.

"Mom will like that we're doing this," Allie said.

It made Finn happy that Allie was calling him and Rachel by the terms kids usually used for their parents rather than by their names.

"We should probably go soon," Emma said.

"We should," Finn agreed.

"I think she'll like it," Ryan said.

"So do I," Finn said as he led the kids out of the house. Since they lived so close to the university, they were just going to walk there. The walk wasn't bad, and when they arrived, Sarah pointed to a bus. "Did the Gold Stars come on that?"

"I bet they did," Finn said. He noticed that the bus had the name of their school district on it. Sarah was slowly beginning to recognize words. The family went inside and took their seats.

"Which song that you guys sang when you were in high school will they sing?" Ryan asked Finn as they waited for the competition to begin.

"Don't Stop Believing," Finn said.

"I liked your version of that!" Allie said.

"Thanks," Finn said. "That was one of my personal favorites."

"But your favorite was Faithfully!" Emma said. "When I have a boyfriend, I'll sing that with him."

"You aren't going to have a boyfriend any time soon!" Finn said. He wasn't ready for his kids to be dating just yet. Luckily, that wouldn't be a concern for a while.

"Hey Allie!" Finn turned and saw Allie's friend Lindsay.

"Hey Lindsay!" Allie said. "What are you doing here?"

"My cousin's in the Gold Stars, didn't I tell you that?" Lindsay said.

"I must have forgotten!" Allie said.

"Want to sit with us?" Finn asked. He was glad that Allie was making friends.

Lindsay turned to her parents. "May I?"

"Of course you can," Lindsay's mom said. "We'll sit close to you guys."

Lindsay took a seat next to Allie as Finn turned to Lindsay's parents. "I'm glad the girls are getting to be friends."

"Allie's so nice," Lindsay's mom said. "Lindsay's really glad she came here."

Finn looked at his oldest daughter. "I'm glad she's here, too."

The MC announced that the competition was beginning, and Finn got out his phone and sent a quick text to Rachel. "Good luck to you and the Gold Stars, Rach! I'm sure you and the Gold Stars will do a great job! We love you! Love, Finn, Allie, Emma, Ryan, Sarah and our two little ones!"

The curtain went up, and Vocal Adrenaline was on the stage. Finn had to admit that they were good in his high school days (though he thought Jesse St. James's Bohemian Rhapsody was the most overrated performance of all time), but right now, they were just bad. Their first song was a YouTube sensation that had gone viral over the holiday season, one of those guilty pleasure type songs. There was barely any choreography. The second number was their lead female singer singing Don't Rain On My Parade, and Finn thought Rachel's rendition was much better. Their third number brought out the whole group again, and it was another rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody. Even though Finn had never liked Jesse's voice, he admitted that Jesse's version was better than this version.

The Gold Stars performed next. The performance opened with the lead male singer and the lead female singer dueting on I Don't Want To Miss A Thing, and Finn was strongly reminded of his duets with Rachel. The whole group came on stage for the first group number, Born To Run, and after that was Don't Stop Believing. Other than the version led by Finn and Rachel, this was the best version Finn had ever heard of it, and he knew that the Gold Stars were headed to Nationals.

When it was time to announce the results, it didn't come as a surprise to Finn and the kids at all when the announcer said that the Gold Stars had won and were headed to Nationals in Atlanta. Finn watched as all four of his kids jumped up and down cheering.

"They won Daddy! They won!" Sarah shouted.

"I know they did," Finn said.

"I hope Mom likes the surprise we prepared for her," Allie said.

"She will," Finn said.

x

Finn, Allie, Emma, Ryan and Sarah had gotten home and were waiting for the bus to arrive. Rather than going to the school, the bus would be dropping Rachel and the Gold Stars members off at their house, Finn had arranged for that beforehand with the bus driver and with the kids' parents. Several of the parents were already at the house anyway to be part of the celebration. When Rachel came in with the choir members, all four of the Hudson kids ran up to their mom and hugged her.

"We planned a surprise victory party!" Emma announced.

"Well, I am surprised!" Rachel said. "Thank you so much."

"It was Dad's idea!" Allie said.

Rachel looked at Finn. Finn went over and gave his wife a hug. "We needed to celebrate this."

"Thank you, Finn," Rachel said. "We beat Vocal Adrenaline! We're going to Nationals."

"Yes you are," Finn said.

"And when we found out we won, they kicked!" Rachel said, putting her hand on her baby bump.

"They're already Gold Stars fans!" Finn said.

_Chapter 17 preview: Something happens that reminds Allie of her deceased parents, and we learn more about her time with them._


	17. Chapter 17: Tornado

_Hi everyone :) I hope you're still enjoying my stories, I haven't been getting as many reviews lately :( I hope people are still reading Finchel stories. It makes me sad how so many fanfics are killing Finn or just writing him out. I just want him to be kept alive somehow._

_This chapter was kind of sad for me to write, but I feel like we should explore how Allie felt when she first found out about her parents and about Finn and Rachel. I am happy with how it turned out though! Hope you enjoy and review if you want me to continue!_

Chapter 17: Tornado

Allie and Emma sat in Emma's bedroom, working on a "see how well you know each other" quiz from a magazine Allie had gotten in the mail. When Allie talked to Finn and Rachel, they transferred her subscription to her favorite magazine to this address. It had taken a lot of time for the subscription to transfer though, and this was the first issue she'd gotten. There was a "see how well you know each other" quiz in it, and she'd asked Emma to do it with her.

"Okay, I guessed that your favorite color's blue," Allie said to her sister.

"That's right!" Emma said. "Yours is purple, right?"

"Yup!" Allie said as they high fived each other. "What about the next question?"

"Favorite ice cream flavor?" Emma asked. "Isn't yours chocolate peanut butter?"

"Yeah!" Allie said. "And yours is cookie dough, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Emma said.

"I should know, you always eat the cookie dough when Mom makes cookies!" Allie said. "What about the next one?"

"The first activity I did?" Emma asked. "Well, was yours viola?"

"Well, we didn't live together back then," Allie said, thinking of her parents. "But even before that, I took dance lessons."

"You did?" Emma asked.

"Yeah," Allie said. She remembered the way her parents had signed her up for ballet classes in preschool. She'd been the most uncoordinated person in the class and it hadn't lasted long.

"Wow," Emma said. "The first thing I did was t-ball with Ryan."

Finn came into Emma's room. "Allie, Emma, you've got to get to the basement."

"What's going on?" Emma asked.

"There's a tornado warning," Finn said.

Allie looked outside. It was a little windy, but it didn't look that bad. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, we're sure," Finn said. "Your mom and I got emergency text alert. She's already in the basement with Ryan and Sarah."

Finn, Allie and Emma went downstairs to the basement. "But Daddy, why do we have to be down here?" Ryan asked.

"I told you, it's safe down here," Finn said.

"We were doing a quiz from Allie's magazine," Emma said. "It was fun."

"You guys can finish it once the tornado passes," Rachel said.

A loud crash was heard outside, and the lights flickered on and off. Sarah screamed and put her arms around Rachel.

"It's okay, honey," Rachel said.

"This is scary!" Sarah said.

The wind was howling outside. Time was passing slowly, but it felt like it was even slower than possible. Allie remembered how stormy it was the day her parents died. Today was even worse.

The lights switched off, and Ryan, Emma and Sarah all screamed.

"The lights will come back," Rachel said.

The noises outside were getting louder and louder. Yes, the weather was definitely worse today than it was the day Allie's parents had died. Allie remembered that day as if it was yesterday...

x

**She was at her friend Kate's house and they were playing a board game in the living room.**

**The doorbell rang and Allie hoped that this was one of her parents. She liked being at Kate's, but she didn't expect to be there this late. After all, she and her parents were planning on watching a movie together tonight.**

**Kate's mom went to answer the door, and Allie looked out the window. There was a police car in the driveway. What was this doing here?**

**"Did something bad happen around here lately?" Allie asked Kate.**

**"I don't think so," Kate said.**

**The girls continued playing the board game, but Allie noticed that Kate's mom and the police officer kept glancing over at her, both with concerned looks on their faces.**

**Finally, both the police officer and Kate's mom came over. "You're Allie?" the police officer asked.**

**Allie didn't know what was going on. "Yeah."**

**"Girls, you might want to sit down," Kate's mom said.**

**"What's going on?" Kate asked.**

**Kate's mom gave her daughter a look as the police officer began to talk to Allie. "Allie, there's no easy way to say this."**

**"What?" Allie asked. She was so confused.**

**"Your parents were in a car accident earlier this afternoon," the police officer said. "One of the people who was on the street at the time said it just looked like the car that hit their car didn't see them coming, or maybe it was because it was raining so hard..."**

**Allie began to worry about her parents. "Where are they now?"**

**"They both had died by the time the police arrived," the police officer had explained. "I'm so sorry, Allie... there was nothing we could do."**

**Allie couldn't believe what she'd just heard. Her parents were dead? It had always been just her and her parents... neither of them had siblings, all four of her grandparents were gone...**

**"If you want to cry, of course you can," Kate's mom said as Kate gave Allie a hug.**

**"It was always just me and my mom and dad," Allie said. "I feel sick." She DID feel sick.**

**"Of course you do," the police officer said. "I'm so sorry, Allie."**

**"How did you know I was here?" Allie asked.**

**"We saw texts sent to this number on your parents' phone and looked up the address of this number," the police officer said.**

**Allie couldn't believe this was really happening. The rain was falling harder than ever, and she was sure it was the heavens crying for her.**

x

The weather was much worse tonight, but Allie's thoughts couldn't help but go back to that night a few months ago. "Are you sure you're okay?" Rachel asked.

"It's just... this reminds me of that night," Allie said. "I don't want to lose you guys too."

"You won't lose us," Finn said. "We're all safe down here. The tornado should pass soon."

"It's okay, Allie," Sarah said.

"You guys should really try to sleep," Rachel said.

"Are the babies asleep?" Ryan asked.

"I don't think they like the tornado either," Rachel said. "They've been moving around a lot."

"Can we feel?" Emma asked.

"Of course," Rachel said. Allie tried to take her mind off things, putting her hand on Rachel's baby bump and feeling some movement.

"Hi guys!" Emma said. "We're your big sisters! We can't wait to meet you!" She turned to Rachel. "Mommy, why won't you tell us their names?"

"We told you, we want you to be surprised!" Finn said.

"But you told us Sarah's name before she was born!" Ryan protested.

"How do you remember that?" Finn asked.

"I remember everything!" Ryan said.

"Well, we'll tell you guys first after they're born, how's that sound?" Finn said.

"Fine, I guess," Emma sighed.

"When will we get to go upstairs?" Sarah said. "I'm tired."

"I know you are," Rachel said. "Right now, we're safe in the basement."

The basement wasn't the ideal place, but Allie knew her mom was right, it was safe down here. She also knew Finn was right, they were safe here and she wouldn't lose anyone.

If this had to be the situation, she was so glad that she was with Finn and Rachel. She wished that Finn and Rachel had been in her life from the beginning and she'd spent some time with both sets of parents. Now her mind was going back to the day that she found out she'd be living with Finn and Rachel.

x

**Allie had spent the past few days living at Kate's house. Some lawyers and child protective service agents had told her that they were examining her parents' will and finding out where they wanted her to go next. Some of her parents' friends had packed up the house, saving Allie's things and sentimental things to take with her wherever she went next. She didn't see why she couldn't just stay at Kate's house. Kate's parents had been nice to her, Kate was one of her best friends, and Kate's older brother had even been nice to her these past few days.**

**One of the child protective service agents came into Kate's room with Kate's dad, where Kate and Allie were building a lego. "Hi Allie," the agent said.**

**"Hi," Allie said.**

**"So, we were reading over your parents' will," the agent said. "We do know where they wanted you to go if anything happened to them, and there are some things that might come as a shock to you."**

**Allie sighed. There wasn't too much more that could shock her. She was only nine and she'd already lost her parents. What more was there? She was still processing everything. "A bigger shock than my parents dying?"**

**"Well, Allie, there's something that you didn't know, and I'm sorry this is how you have to find out," the agent said. "You're adopted. Your birth parents had you when they were seniors in high school and they felt like they couldn't take care of you. Your adoptive parents have been trying to get in contact with them for a while because they wanted you to meet them, but couldn't locate them. In their will, your adoptive parents said that if anything ever happened to them, they wanted you to live with your birth parents. It took us a few days, but we found where they are."**

**Allie could barely process all of this. So she was adopted? That explained why her parents didn't have any hospital photos of her as a baby. And she was going to live with the people who didn't want her nine years ago? There was so much wrong with this situation! "Why them?"**

**"We don't know," the agent said. "Your parents really wanted them to be part of your life."**

**Allie didn't know what to say. "Can you tell me about them?"**

**"We're doing a background check on them now," the agent said. "Their names are Finn and Rachel Hudson, they live in Cleveland. They also have three other kids."**

**Allie liked the sound of the Hudsons even less now. They had three other kids? Who did they think they were, giving her to another family and then having three other kids and keeping them? "I don't want to live with the Hudsons!" Allie shouted. "I want my real mom and dad back!"**

x

Now that Allie was reminded of the night she lost her parents, she began feeling a strong sense of regret for how cold she was to Finn and Rachel when she first came to live with them. Over the past few weeks, she'd learned that they really did love her. The only reason they hadn't been there when she was with her birth parents is because they'd feared it would be too hard to see her with someone else.

"Mom, Dad, I'm sorry I was so mean at first," Allie said.

"Allie, you don't have to worry about that," Finn said. "You were going through a bad time."

"It's not okay!" Allie said. "I was mean."

"Allie, you don't need to be so hard on yourself," Rachel said as she hugged Allie. "We love you."

"Yeah we do," Emma said.

Finn's phone vibrated. "The tornado's passed, we can go upstairs." As the family went upstairs, the lights came back on. Allie looked out the window and noticed the mess outside. Several branches had fallen off trees, and a light post had fallen outside across the street.

"Wow, look at that!" Ryan said.

Finn looked out the window. "I'm surprised we got the power back."

"Me too," Rachel said. She nudged Sarah. "We'd better get you to bed."

"These three need to get to bed, too!" Finn said.

"But we probably won't have school tomorrow," Allie said.

"You guys still need to go to bed," Rachel said.

"I'm just glad we're all okay," Finn said.

"Are the babies okay?" Emma asked Rachel.

"Yeah, I think they fell asleep," Rachel said.

"We're lucky our lights came back already," Ryan said.

"That's right," Rachel said.

"I am pretty tired," Allie admitted.

"Yes, we wouldn't normally let you guys stay up this late, but it was too noisy to sleep," Finn said.

"Good night Mom. Good night Dad. I love you," Allie said, hugging Finn and Rachel.

"We love you too," Finn said.

"We love all four of you," Rachel said. "Well, all six of you."

_Chapter 18 preview: Kurt enlists Allie and Emma's help with a baby shower for Rachel. Allie has a concert at her school. Some sweet Finchel moments._


	18. Chapter 18: Chocolate Sauce

_Thanks so much for all the reviews on the last chapter. I really enjoyed reading all of them. This chapter was another one of my favorites - I love writing Finchel moments and Finchel family moments, as well as Finchel with the rest of the Glee alumni. Since Finchel are the only ones who live in the city they live in, it's harder to write the other Gleeks in :( Hope you enjoy this chapter and don't forget to review if I should keep going!_

Chapter 18: Chocolate Sauce

Finn heard a noise downstairs. He looked at the clock and saw that it was four in the morning. Then he looked next to him and saw that Rachel wasn't there. He tiptoed downstairs and saw Rachel cooking something. Rachel looked up from the stove and looked guilty. "Hey, Finny."

"Hey babe," Finn yawned. "What are you doing?"

"I was hungry," Rachel giggled.

Finn looked at his wife's growing stomach. "Are our two little ones keeping you up?"

Rachel nodded. "Yeah. Especially our little boy."

"So, what are you making, Rachel?" Finn asked, eyeing the chocolate sauce on the counter.

"French fries," Rachel said as the alarm went off and she took them out of the oven.

"French fries?" Finn asked. "Then what's the chocolate sauce doing out?" he thought out loud.

"I tried them with chocolate sauce the other day," Rachel said. Finn made a face as he watched his wife put the fries on a plate, then put chocolate sauce on the side. "They were good." She held out the plate. "Want one?"

Finn shook his head. How did Rachel even come up with such an idea? "One of those weird pregnancy cravings?"

"Yeah, I had them with my other pregnancies," Rachel said.

"I think this is your weirdest," Finn said. He put his hand on Rachel's stomach and felt some small kicks.

Rachel looked up at Finn. "They know that Daddy's here!"

Finn placed two kisses on Rachel's bump, one for their son and one for their daughter. "I'm pretty tired still, Rach. Try to get some sleep after you have your snack."

Rachel looked at Finn. "I know, babe. I love you."

"Love you too," Finn said. "And our little ones."

x

The next morning, it was Finn's free period at work and he was grading some papers when the phone rang. "Hello?"

"Hey!" Finn recognized the voice on the other end, it was his brother.

"Hey," Finn said. "How are you doing?"

"Just designing some clothing for a high profile wedding in New York," Kurt said.

"That's amazing!" Finn said. He was pretty proud of his brother's success in the fashion industry.

"Yeah, but I didn't call to talk about me," Kurt said. "I called to ask if you've started planning a baby shower for Rachel yet."

Finn sighed. "Kurt, you know I'm not very good at that sort of stuff. Besides, we're so busy with building the addition on to our house." Since the kids had been through so much change over the past few months, Finn and Rachel had decided that moving to a new house might be too much change, so they were instead having an addition built on to their current house. They'd started the addition shortly after Christmas, and they hoped it would be ready by the time the babies were born. The addition had three bedrooms - one for Ryan, one for Emma and one for Allie. They figured the three oldest kids could have rooms not too close to their parents'.

"How is the addition coming along?" Kurt asked.

"It's going well, I think," Finn said. "They are ahead of schedule."

"That's good," Kurt said. "Well, I'm planning a baby shower for your wife. I'm going to get a weekend to come visit you guys and throw Rach a baby shower."

"You would do that," Kurt said.

"I did that for your first set of twins and for Sarah, didn't I?" Kurt asked. "Our friends who live in Lima could probably come in for it."

"I bet Rach would like that," Finn told his brother. "Since Allie and Emma are a little older, maybe they'd be able to help out."

"You should call me when Rachel's at practice," Kurt told Finn. "I'll talk to the girls."

"Okay," Finn said. "Bye Kurt."

"Call me later!" Kurt said.

x

After school, Finn picked up his three oldest kids from their elementary school and told the girls about Kurt's phone call. Emma and Allie both liked the idea of helping to plan Rachel's baby shower. After the girls talked to Kurt, Finn took them to the store to buy some of the decorations Kurt had suggested they get. Finn was pretty clueless about these types of things, so he was glad Kurt had enlisted the help of the girls.

"No Dad, there's a difference between those shades of blue," Allie said as she put back some streamers that Finn had picked up.

"Your uncle would have specific shades in mind," Finn said.

"Where are we going to put this stuff?" Emma asked. "Mommy might see it at our house."

That hadn't occured to Finn. "I'll keep it in my classroom at school."

"Okay," Emma said. "We should get baby cupcakes, too!"

"I bet your mom would like that," Finn said.

"She'll be surprised!" Emma said.

"Did she have baby showers when she was pregnant with us?" Allie asked.

"Well, Allie, since you didn't live with us after you were born, we didn't have one," Finn said, feeling bad about that. "But we planned one for her with Ryan and Emma, and she had another surprise one with Sarah."

"It's a good thing Sarah doesn't know," Allie said. "She'd probably tell Mom."

"She probably would," Finn said. Since Ryan was playing at Nick's house and Nick's brother was only a year older than Sarah, Finn had asked Nick's parents if Sarah could go over there while he took Emma and Allie shopping for the baby shower. They'd gotten just about everything they needed. Finn couldn't wait to see Rachel's reaction.

x

"Ready for your concert?" Rachel called up the stairs.

Allie came downstairs in a blue dress with gold stars on it. Rachel smiled at her daughter, noticing how much Allie looked like she did before vocal recitals as a kid.

"I'm so excited!" Allie said.

"We're excited, too," Rachel said.

"You'll be good!" Sarah added.

Finn came into the living room. "Ready to go, Allie?"

"Yeah!" Allie said. Since Allie was performing, she had to get there earlier, so Finn was dropping Allie off and then coming back to get the rest of the family.

"We'll see you there!" Rachel called as Finn and Allie left. Then she turned to Sarah. "You know what I think we should do?"

"What?" Sarah asked.

"We should get flowers for Allie!" Rachel said.

Sarah giggled. "Yeah! Get Emma and Ryan!"

Rachel called down for Emma and Ryan, who were in their rooms. "We were thinking of getting flowers for Allie for after the performance."

"We should!" Emma said.

Finn came in. "Daddy, we're going to go get flowers for Allie!" Sarah told him.

"You are?" Finn asked.

"Didn't you get flowers for Mommy after Glee competitions?" Ryan asked.

"Of course I did," Finn said. "I think we have time to go get some before we have to get to the school for the performance."

Finn, Rachel, Ryan, Emma and Sarah got in their car and drove to the nearby garden center. Emma and Sarah ran in to look at the flowers, while Ryan was more interested in the garden gnomes. A few minutes after arriving, Sarah poked Rachel. "We should get those!"

Rachel looked at a bouquet of purple flowers that Emma was holding. "Purple is Allie's favorite color."

"I don't think Daddy and Ryan are going to help us at all," Emma said.

"Well, I do like those flowers," Rachel said. She paid for the flowers and then the family got in the car to the elementary school, where they took a seat in the gym. Tomorrow the orchestra would be performing for the school, but tonight was the first performance, and Ryan and Emma had both expressed excitement of getting to see their sister perform before most of their classmates did.

"Hi Ryan!" a voice said as the Hudsons arrived.

Finn and Rachel turned and saw Nick. "Hi Nick," Emma said.

"Hi Emma," Nick said. He turned back to Ryan. "Are you excited to see Allie perform?"

"Yes," Ryan said. "I hope I can play the drums in the orchestra when I'm old enough!"

"I'm sure you'll get in," Rachel said, not helping herself. "You have a really great instructor." She tilted her head toward Finn.

Finn laughed. "So, Nick, are your parents and Kyle here?"

"Yeah," Nick said. "You guys should sit near us."

"We will," Rachel said as she and Finn followed Nick and their kids into the school gym. Nick led them to where his parents and his four-year-old brother Kyle were sitting.

"How are the babies doing?" Nick's mom asked Rachel.

"They're doing great!" Rachel said as she saw Ava and her parents come over.

"Ryan, are those flowers for me?" Ava teased.

"They're for Allie," Ryan told Ava.

Emma laughed at her best friend. "You're funny."

"Do you think you'll join the orchestra, Ava?" Finn asked. "Ryan's already decided he'll play the drums."

"And I'm going to play the flute," Emma said.

"Yeah, I'm going to play the French horn," Nick said.

"I kind of want to play the tuba," Ava said.

"The tuba?" Ava's mom said. "Ava, I think the tuba's a bit big for a little girl."

Ava pouted. "But the tuba's cool."

The students in the orchestra came on to the stage, indicating that it was time for those in the audience to stop talking. The concert was amazing, and it looked like Allie was having fun up there. Allie did a trio with Lindsay and Jessica at one point, and Rachel thought it sounded amazing. (Small groups of students could also perform songs together as well as the whole orchestra performing together.) The whole concert was amazing, especially for a production featuring elementary school kids. Finn and Rachel were on their feet when the whole orchestra finished the final song, as were Ryan, Emma and Sarah.

After the concert was over, Finn and Rachel went with their three older kids to find Allie. They found her in the hallway talking to Lindsay and Jessica.

"Hey!" Rachel said, giving her daughter a hug. "You did a great job!"

"Thanks, Mom!" Allie said.

Sarah handed Allie the flowers. "These are for you."

"My favorite color," Allie said, looking at the flowers. "Thank you, Sarah!"

Rachel looked at Allie's friends. "You guys did a good job, too."

"Thanks!" Jessica said.

"Your siblings have decided they want to be in the orchestra, too," Finn told Allie.

"I hope they do it!" Allie said. "It's fun."

"Well, we're really proud of you," Finn said. "Ready to go home?"

"Yeah," Allie said. "Thanks again for the flowers."

x

That weekend, Kurt and Blaine had come in from New York for the baby shower, and Finn had asked Rachel's friend Kellie from work to take her out of the house while they set up. Kurt was mostly directing the set up, though Emma and Allie were helping him a lot, and so were Quinn, Santana, Brittany, Mercedes and Tina, who'd all come in to Cleveland for the baby shower. Rachel had just gone to Chicago for Tina's baby shower a few weeks ago. Since Tina's baby still hadn't come yet, she was just setting up the food with help from Finn and Blaine, while Kurt, Santana, Brittany, Quinn and Mercedes were hanging up decorations, with assistance from Allie and Emma. Sarah was upstairs playing with Molly and Ryan was playing with Michael upstairs. Lily and Brendan were asleep right now.

When the decorating was finished, some of Rachel's friends from work and the neighborhood started to arrive. Allie leaned over to Finn. "I hope she likes it!"

"She'll love it!" Kurt said, overhearing his niece. "Thanks for all your help!"

"Anything for my little brother and sister!" Allie said proudly. "You know, once the addition to the house is finished, my sister is going to get my room."

"What are their names going to be?" Mercedes asked.

"I don't even know!" Allie said, eyeing Finn. "They won't tell us!"

"You'll find out when they're born!" Finn said.

Allie remembered the onesies she saw. "I do know that his name starts with a C and her name starts with an L."

Finn gave Allie a look. "How'd you know that?"

"You're not denying it!" Santana said to Finn.

"I saw them in my parents' room!" Allie said.

The doorbell rang, and it was as if Ryan and Sarah took that as a hint to come downstairs. "Surprise!" all four Hudson kids said, running up to their mom.

"Wow!" Rachel said. "I am surprised!"

"I planned it," Kurt said, giving his best friend a hug. "But your two oldest girls did help me a lot!"

"Yes we did!" Allie said proudly.

"You two will be great big sisters," Rachel said. She looked and saw that in addition to her friends from work and the neighborhood, the original Glee girls were all there.

"I didn't think all of you would be here!" Rachel said to the girls.

"Of course we are!" Mercedes said.

"We all love you, Mom," Allie said. "And the babies, too!"

_Chapter 19 preview: Allie works hard to get good grades on her end-of-the-year tests. The school year winds down, and the Hudson family goes to Atlanta for Nationals - Allie gets to have the Nationals experience for the first time!_


	19. Chapter 19: The Finchel Star

_Hey everyone. Did you all see the tribute for Cory at the Emmys? It was perfect! This chapter was a fun one for me to write, since I love writing other Gleeks into the stories. I tried not to make it too similar to the recent Nationals chapter in my other story! I have to admit, I did feel a little emotional when writing the part about the Finchel star :( I can't believe Glee's coming back this week - without Cory :( Well, enjoy the chapter and review if you want me to keep going!_

_*Special thanks to my reader FINCHEL4everALWAYS for her help with coming up with activities for the Hudson family's activities in Atlanta :)*_

Chapter 19: The Finchel Star

Allie groaned as her CD player flashed a BATTERY LOW alert. It was about an eleven hour bus ride from Cleveland to Atlanta for Nationals, and there were still about two hours to go. She'd never been the best traveler, and she was tired of the itchy bus seats. The Gold Stars were taking a bus from Cleveland to Atlanta because Rachel's doctor thought she was too far into her pregnancy to fly. Allie, Emma and Ryan had begged Finn to fly down with the three of them and Sarah, but Finn wanted to be on the bus for Rachel in case anything happened.

Most of the high school kids were watching DVDs on their portable DVD players or listening to their iPods. Ryan, Emma and Sarah had all fallen asleep hours ago, and Rachel was talking to Finn about who knew what - probably what to do with the Gold Stars for Nationals. Other parent chaperones were engaged in their own conversations.

"Are you doing okay?" Allie looked up and saw Finn looking at her. Finn and Rachel were in the seats across from hers.

"Yeah, Nationals sounds like fun," Allie said. "I just don't like traveling."

"I'm sorry," Finn said. "I would have gotten an airplane for you and your siblings and me, but I wanted to be here in case anything happened with your mom."

"I understand," Allie said. "So Mom, how are the babies?"

"They're asleep right now, but they were moving around a lot earlier," Rachel said. "I don't think they like long bus rides."

"They take after their big sister!" Allie giggled.

"Yes they do," Finn said. "So, you know that it was ten years ago this year that we won Nationals with the New Directions?"

"Yeah, I know," Allie said. Her parents had told her that before. "I'm excited to meet all your friends from New Directions I haven't met yet."

"They're more excited to meet you, I guarantee it," Rachel said.

"Mom, Dad, do either of you have any extra batteries?" Allie asked. She held up her CD player. "My batteries died."

"Yeah, here you go," Rachel said, handing batteries to Allie.

"Thanks," Allie said as she put the batteries in the CD player. Maybe the rest of the ride down wouldn't be so boring.

x

A few hours later, the Gold Stars had checked into their hotel, and Allie, Emma, Ryan and Sarah were in the Hudson family's suite watching TV while Finn was on his laptop. Rachel was downstairs practicing with the Gold Stars when Finn's phone rang. He talked for a few minutes, then turned to the kids. "How'd you guys like to go to the Atlanta zoo tomorrow?"

"That would be fun!" Allie said. She really liked the zoo in Columbus, and a few weeks ago she'd gone to the one in Cleveland with Lindsay's family and enjoyed it as well.

"That was Sam calling," Finn said. "The Evanses are getting in tonight, and he's wondering if tomorrow during your mom's time off, you guys would like to go to the zoo with them and the Puckermans."

"That would be fun!" Allie said. She hadn't met Sam or the Evans kids yet and she'd really liked Beth the last time she saw the Puckermans.

Finn's phone vibrated again. He looked at it and turned to the kids. "That was your mom. She's wondering if you'd like to go downstairs and see the Gold Stars perform their numbers for Nationals for you."

"Of course we do!" Ryan said.

"All right, let's go downstairs," Finn said. He led the kids down to the room where the Gold Stars were with Rachel.

"Your audience is here," Rachel told the Gold Stars as she smiled at Finn and the kids. "Now let's show them our songs."

The Gold Stars performed all three songs they were going to do for Nationals, and at the end of the performance, Allie just spoke what she was thinking. "You guys are going to win!"

"You think we are?" Rachel asked her daughter.

"You heard her," Finn said. "You will."

"That was great!" Emma said.

"Yeah, you sounded better than Regionals," Ryan added.

"Yay Mommy!" Sarah said.

"Well, thanks for coming," Rachel said to her family. "We'd better get back to practice. I'll see you guys later."

"Bye, Mommy!" Sarah said as they left. As Allie, Emma, Sarah, Ryan and Finn were going back to their room, they heard a voice. "Finn!"

Allie turned and saw a man walking toward them. Even though she'd never met him before, she knew who this was. This was Mr. Schuester, Finn and Rachel's choir director from high school.

"Hi Will!" Finn said, hugging his former director. "Are the New Directions staying here too?"

"Yes they are," Mr. Schuester said.

Finn turned to his kids. "Ryan, Emma, Sarah, you remember Will Schuester, my choir director from high school, right?"

"Yeah!" Ryan said. "Hi!"

"They've gotten so big since last year," Mr. Schuester commented.

"They have, haven't they?" Finn asked. He put his arm around Allie. "And this is Allie, our oldest daughter who came to live with us in the fall."

"Hi Allie," Mr. Schuester said. "It's so nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you from your mom and dad."

"I hope it's good," Allie said.

"It's all good," Mr. Schuester said. "I wouldn't expect anything bad from Finn and Rachel Hudson's kids."

"You told us last year that they were the best things that ever happened to the New Directions," Emma laughed.

"She remembers that?" Mr. Schuester asked Finn.

"Yeah, I remember that, too," Ryan said.

"They really were," Mr. Schue said. "Of all the years I've been directing, I haven't had two people as talented and with leadership skills like your parents."

"Well, I appreciate that," Finn said. "Good luck this week!"

"Tell Rachel I said good luck to the Gold Stars, too," Mr. Schuester said.

"And say hi to Mrs. Schue and the kids for me!" Finn called as they went back upstairs.

x

The next day, Rachel had some time off in the afternoon, so the Hudson family went to the Atlanta Zoo to meet up with the Puckerman and Evans families. Since the Gold Stars weren't practicing and it was Rachel's time off, the parent chaperones took the high school kids to Six Flags while Rachel spent time with her family.

"How was practice this morning?" Allie asked her mom as they arrived at the zoo.

"I think we have a real shot at the top five," Rachel said.

"Of course you do," Finn said.

"I'll still be happy if the New Directions win," Rachel said. "After all, it's because of the New Directions that we're married and the four of you are here."

"Awww!" Allie teased her parents. The bus arrived at the zoo, and Allie recognized the Puckermans right away.

"It's the Hudsons!" Puck said as Finn and Rachel came over with their kids.

"Good to see you guys," Rachel said.

"Wow, Rach, look at you," Quinn said.

"I know, I'm fat," Rachel sighed.

"Rach, you're not fat, you're beautiful," Finn said.

Beth looked at Allie. "Parents."

"I know, right?" Allie said back.

"Sometimes when they all get together, they act like they're all teenagers again," Beth whispered.

"I can tell!" Allie said.

"So, how are things going with Finn and Rachel?" Beth asked Allie.

"They're going well," Allie said. "I really love them. I wish I could have two sets of parents at once."

"I feel the same way," Beth said.

As Allie and Beth talked, Finn and Rachel talked with Puck and Quinn. "She seems to have adjusted a lot more," Puck said.

"Yeah, she really has," Finn said. "We really love having her with us."

"Didn't we tell you she'd come around?" Quinn asked.

"You did," Finn said.

"Mommy, can we go in now?" Sarah asked.

"We need to wait for Uncle Sam and Aunt Mercedes and their kids," Rachel said.

"There they are!" Adam said, pointing at Sam and Mercedes who were on their way over. Sam was pushing a double stroller that their two toddlers were riding in. Allie hadn't met Sam yet, but she recognized him from photos she'd seen. She had met Mercedes at Rachel's baby shower.

"Hi guys!" Mercedes said as she came up. She immediately noticed Allie. "Allie, you need to meet my husband Sam! Sam, this is Allie. And Allie, these are our kids. This is Gabe, he's three. And this is Alicia, she's almost two."

Allie smiled at the two toddlers in the stroller. "Hi Gabe. Hi Alicia."

After everyone said hi to each other, the three families went in. The first animal they went to see was the pandas. Finn and Rachel had read online that one of the pandas at the zoo had recently given birth to twin babies, so they thought it would be fun for their own twins to see.

"Twins!" Emma declared. "Just like me and Ryan!"

"And the babies Mommy's going to have soon," Ryan said.

"So your mom's going to have six kids," Beth said to Allie.

"Yeah," Allie said. "Do you think your mom will have any more?"

"I'm not sure," Beth said. "I know Adam wants her to have a boy so it will be even."

"The pandas are so cute!" Sarah said.

"Almost as cute as the twins we have!" Finn teased.

x

"You're still studying?" Finn asked. The families had gotten back from the zoo, and Allie was in the hotel room, going over her review sheets for the end of the year tests in school. Rachel was rehearsing with the Gold Stars, and Ryan, Emma and Sarah had gone to the hotel pool with the Evanses and the Puckermans.

"I need to get good grades on my end of the year tests," Allie told Finn. "I'm missing a week of school, so it's important that I study."

"You've been studying for a while," Finn said. "How about you and I go join your siblings and our friends at the pool?" He knew how hard Allie had worked all year, and that finding out about her learning disability only made her work harder. He just hoped she wasn't being too hard on herself.

"Okay," Allie sighed. She put down her review sheets and followed her dad. "The middle school's going to see our grades next year, what if I don't do well on my tests?"

"Allie, you've been improving," Finn said. He knew all about having trouble in school, he'd had trouble of his own. "You've been working really hard with your tutor. I think knowing that your brain works differently has helped you to work harder, you don't just give up when you have trouble with something."

"I really hope I can get all As and Bs this quarter," Allie said. "I always seem to have at least one C."

"You remember what I told you," Finn said. "I had a C- average my freshman year of high school, but my average when I graduated was a B+ and I got all As all senior year."

"I know," Allie giggled as they arrived at the hotel pool. Finn was relieved when Allie just bolted into the pool to join Ryan, Emma and Beth. Finn got in the zero entry part of the pool, where Quinn, Puck, Sam and Mercedes were watching Sarah, Adam, Maddie, Gabe and Alicia.

"How's studying going for her?" Sam asked Finn.

"She was stressed up there, but I think she'll do well," Finn said. "She's working really hard."

"I can relate to her with dyslexia," Sam said.

Finn watched as his youngest daughter splashed around with his friends' kids, then looked at the deeper end of the pool, where Allie, Emma and Ryan were hanging out with Beth. "It's hard to believe that ten years ago, we were competitors here, and now we're taking our kids to watch the competition," he thought outloud.

"I know, it almost feels unreal, doesn't it?" Mercedes asked.

x

"We saw a video of one of the other clubs practicing online," Rachel told Finn. "Apparently the local newspaper went to their practice." She sighed. "They were really good."

"You guys are really good, too!" Finn told his wife.

"But what if we're not good enough?" Rachel asked. She'd been trying so hard to put on a convincing face for the members of the choir, because she knew they were nervous. In the show choir community, this was thought to be one of the toughest competitions of all time.

"I told you that you were good," another voice said. Rachel turned and saw Allie.

"Listen to our daughter," Finn told his wife.

Rachel sighed. "I just want us to do well."

Finn took Rachel's hand. "You will. You'll be in the top five."

"Yeah, you will!" Allie added.

Rachel felt her heart beating fast. "I don't know why I'm so nervous."

"You should only be nervous because the other teams might want to steal you!" Ryan said.

"Yeah, you are the best," Emma said.

Rachel smiled at her family. "So, what are you guys doing tomorrow?" She wanted to take her mind off the upcoming competition.

"We're going to spend the day with Uncle Kurt, Uncle Blaine, Aunt Brittany, Aunt Santana and all their kids," Emma said.

"That should be fun," Rachel told them.

x

"That display is scary!" Sarah said, clinging to Finn. It was the next day, and Finn and his kids were with the Hummel-Andersons and Lopez-Pierces at the Tellus Museum.

"No it isn't, it's cool!" Ryan said.

"Ryan, don't tease your sister," Finn said.

"Well, I think we can leave this display, because our tickets to go to the observatory say we should start heading there now," Santana said.

"We'll get to see the moon and the stars and the planets!" Emma exclaimed.

"Yes you will," Finn said. He and the other adults had decided to take the kids in the evening so they could go to the observatory. They'd spent the whole day with Kurt, Blaine, Brittany and Santana and their kids though - Rachel had even been able to join them at the aquarium on her time off in the morning and they'd gone to Stone Mountain park in the afternoon.

"Mom, will we go really high up?" Molly asked her mom.

"Yes we will!" Santana said to her daughter as they got on the elevator.

Lily started crying as the elevator moved up. "Is she afraid of heights?" Allie asked Brittany.

"I think she might be," Brittany said. She gave her youngest daughter a kiss. "Don't worry Lily, we'll be out soon."

The elevator stopped, and the group got out and walked around the observatory. Allie, Ryan, Emma, Michael and Molly looked out the window in awe at the stars. "Daddy, where's the star you got for Mommy?" Ryan asked.

"What star?" Blaine asked Finn.

Finn smiled, remembering the star he'd gotten Rachel their senior year. "I bought a star for Rachel our senior year of high school," he explained. "I didn't know what would happen to us, so I got it so whenever she felt lonely, she could look up there and know I was with her."

"Awww!" Kurt said. "That's so sweet."

"So where is it?" Allie asked.

Finn looked out the window. He wasn't sure where the star was, but he didn't want to disappoint his kids. "There it is."

"Wow!" Sarah said. "Mommy's star!"

"Yes," Finn said. "Mommy's star."

x

After a fun few days in Atlanta, it was competition day. Allie had loved getting to meet all her parents' friends and doing all sorts of fun things. She was already excited for Nationals next year. (Finn told her the school district basically paid for their family to take a vacation.) Finn, Allie, Ryan, Emma and Sarah were sitting in their seats in the competition arena when Kurt and Blaine arrived with their sons. The Puckermans and Evanses were already there when the Hudsons arrived.

"Rachel's really nervous," Kurt said to Finn.

"Oh, I know she is," Finn said.

"We know they'll do well though!" Allie said.

"I'm sure they will, your mom is their director," Blaine said.

"Aunt Rachel's a good singer," Michael said.

"Yes she is," Kurt said, smiling with pride at his son as Santana and Brittany arrived with their daughters.

"I bet Rachel's going crazy now," Santana said. "Remember how she always went crazy before our competitions?"

"What did she do?" Allie asked.

"She did not go crazy," Finn said.

"She would give speeches about how we had to win," Brittany said.

"Ten years ago, you did win for the first time," Allie said.

"Thanks to me and Rachel leading our epic group number," Finn said proudly.

Mike and Tina arrived with their son Joey who was a few weeks old. "How's the Asian baby?" Brittany asked.

"Well, you were right our junior year when you predicted our babies would be Asian, too," Mike said.

"He's cute," Emma said, looking at Joey. The Hudsons had met Joey when they had dinner with the Changs a few days earlier.

"Rachel's up next," Tina said.

"Yeah," Finn said. "I can't believe she's due in less than two months and she's still able to direct a choir at Nationals."

"That's because she's Rachel," Tina said.

"I guess you're right," Finn said.

"So Finn, who do you want to win?" Artie asked as he and Betty came up with their son Eric.

"Every year at least one of their friends from high school asks him that," Emma whispered to Allie.

"The same as last year," Finn said. "I want a tie."

The MC announced that the competition was beginning, and the Gold Stars took the stage first. Allie thought they sounded even better than they had when Rachel had the family come see them practice. "Was that better than what you heard earlier?" Beth whispered to Allie.

"Yeah!" Allie whispered back. Then she nudged Finn. "That was good, wasn't it?"

"It was," Finn whispered back.

The rest of the performances were good too, but Allie thought that the Gold Stars were the best. When all the groups had performed, the top five groups were called on stage, and both the Gold Stars and the New Directions were in the top five. It was then announced that New Directions had won, and the Gold Stars were third. Allie could tell how happy Rachel looked with the top five finish and noticed that Rachel hugged Mr. Schue.

"Can we go see Mommy?" Emma asked Finn.

"Yeah, let's go," Finn said. He took the kids down to the room where the Gold Stars were.

"Mommy!" Sarah said when they got there.

"Hi guys!" Rachel said. "Third place!"

"So you're happy with your place?" Allie asked.

"Yeah!" Rachel said. "If we have to lose, I'm glad the New Directions won. And third is pretty good!"

"They sounded amazing," Finn said to his wife. "They're so lucky to have you."

"Awww!" Rachel said, giving Finn a hug.

"And the trophy's so cool!" Ryan said. "It's really big!"

"The first place trophy's even bigger," Rachel laughed.

"So, what do you say that while you're on your time off tonight, we have dinner with our New Directions friends?" Finn asked Rachel.

Rachel smiled. "I'd love that."

_Chapter 20 preview: Two new characters join the story ;) Any guesses?_


	20. Chapter 20: Six Perfect Kids

_Hey guys. Here's a chapter I've been waiting to write :) I was originally planning to end the story with the birth of the twins, but I do kind of want to write more of Finchel home with their six kids! :) Just drop me a review if you think I should keep going, and thanks so much for your support._

_I don't think I even need to tell you where the babies' names come from :) Lots of you figured it out anyway :) And I hope you guys enjoyed the premiere of Glee, as much as you can enjoy an episode of Glee without Cory, Finn and Finchel anyway._

Chapter 20: Six Perfect Kids

"Last day of school!" Ryan declared as he came out of the school with Emma.

"Yep, last day of school," Finn said. The middle school got out earlier than the high school, so Finn could go to the elementary school to pick up his kids.

"Where's Allie?" Emma asked.

"She should be out soon," Finn said. "So how was your last day?"

"All we did was watch movies!" Emma said.

"And have snacks," Ryan added.

"That sounds pretty similar to my day at the middle school," Finn said.

Allie came up to Finn, Ryan and Emma. "Hey!"

"Hi Allie!" Finn said. "How was your last day?"

"It was good," Allie said. "On this day next year, I'll be on the fifth grade field trip!"

"Yes you will!" Finn said. On the last day of school at Cambridge, the fifth graders always went on a special field trip to celebrate the end of elementary school.

"I hope I did okay on my grades," Allie said.

"I'm sure you did great," Finn said. "You worked really hard all year."

"I hope," Allie sighed. "My grades this year will determine if I can be in the green group next year."

"You will!" Finn told his oldest daughter. "Now, let's get home. Your mommy could use some company."

"How is she?" Ryan asked. After Nationals, Rachel took the rest of the year off of work because it was too hard for her to go to work so far into her pregnancy. She was pretty much on bedrest now.

"Yeah, I don't think we can completely trust Sarah to take care of her!" Emma giggled.

Finn drove his three oldest kids home. When they arrived home, Sarah ran to the door. "Allie, Emma, Ryan, can you play with me?"

"Sure we can!" Allie said.

"I want Mommy to play with me, but she's resting," Sarah said.

"Well, she needs to rest for the babies," Finn said. Rachel's due date was a few weeks away, but Finn and Rachel both knew the babies could very well come early, especially since it was twins. Ryan and Emma had been early.

Finn went upstairs to his and Rachel's bedroom and saw Rachel resting on her bed. "Hey babe." He gave his wife a quick kiss.

"Hi," Rachel said softly. "Did the kids have a good last day of school?"

"Why don't you go downstairs and ask them?" Finn teased.

"Maybe because I can barely walk," Rachel pouted.

"I'm sorry, baby," Finn said. "It shouldn't be much longer." He put his hand on his wife's stomach and felt some kicks. "Hi guys. We can't wait to meet you." He put two kisses on Rachel's baby bump.

"How are you, Mom?" Allie said as she came in.

"Hi sweetheart," Rachel said. "How was your last day of school?"

"It was fun," Allie said. "I hope I get good grades."

"I'm sure you will," Rachel said, taking her oldest daughter's hand. "I just want your little brother and sister out of me!"

"They're kicking a lot right now," Finn told Allie.

"Can I feel?" Allie asked.

"Of course," Rachel said.

Allie put her hand on Rachel's stomach. "Hi guys. It's Allie, your big sister. You have two other big sisters, and a big brother too."

"They're pretty lucky babies," Finn said.

"I'm going to go back to play with Emma, Ryan and Sarah," Allie said.

"Okay honey," Rachel said. She and Finn watched as their oldest daughter left. "I feel bad for not getting to spend much time with our four older kids lately," Rachel sighed.

"Honey, you're pregnant," Finn said softly.

"I'm really thirsty," Rachel said. "Could you get me some water?"

"Of course," Finn said. He started to leave the room when he heard a scream. Even though he wasn't completely out of the room, he ran back to Rachel's side. "Baby what's wrong?" He knew though. He knew that scream.

"My water broke," Rachel stammered.

All four of the other kids ran into the room. "Is it time?" Emma asked.

Finn looked at the kids. "It's time." He realized they weren't ready. "Guys, can you get some of your mom's clothes out of the dresser? Anything will do, we just need to get to the hospital." He knew the kids likely couldn't be trusted with that, but he needed to call someone to watch the kids while he and Rachel went to the hospital.

"Finn, I need to get to the hospital," Rachel moaned.

"I just need to get someone to watch these four!" Finn said to his wife as he got out his phone.

Sarah gave Finn a worried look. "Is Mommy okay?"

"Of course she is," Finn said. "We just need to get her to the hospital." Finn got a hold of Jessica's parents, who came over to watch the four older kids, and then got in the car with Rachel to drive her to the hospital. Even in the car, Rachel held on to Finn's leg. It upset Finn to see his wife in so much pain, even though it would be worth it at the end. At a red light, he turned and looked at Rachel. "Just keep breathing, okay?" he said to her. "You'll be fine."

"I love you," Rachel whimpered.

"I love you too," Finn said as he continued driving to the hospital. Finally, they arrived and Finn helped Rachel into a wheelchair, wheeling her into the maternity ward. This was it. They were going to have six kids.

x

"I hope Mommy has the babies soon!" Sarah said. Jessica's mom was driving the four Hudson kids to the hospital to wait for their little brother and sister to be born.

"It can take hours, guys," Jessica's mom told the kids.

"The hospital waiting room can get boring, though," Ryan said.

"Hey, you guys brought your books and your toys and your DS," Jessica's mom said to the kids. She turned to Allie. "Just a warning, I'm sure Jessica will want to come over as soon as they're born to meet them."

"Yeah," Allie said. Jessica only had an older brother, so younger siblings were exciting to her. Lindsay had a younger brother.

The car arrived at the hospital. "I'm going to be a big sister!" Sarah said.

"Yes you are," Allie said to her sister.

"I remember when you were born," Emma said.

"Yeah, me too," Ryan said. "Grandma and Grandpa were in town that weekend."

"Your dad told me he called your grandparents, so they'll try to get in tonight," Jessica's mom told the kids.

x

"Does she need the epidural?" the doctor asked Finn.

"Ummm..." Finn began.

Rachel looked at the doctor. "YES!" She wondered why the doctor was asking Finn and not her.

"I guess she does," Finn said.

"I'll get it," the doctor said as Rachel grabbed Finn's hand.

"Don't leave me," Rachel said.

"You know I won't," Finn said calmly. "You're doing great."

"You said that the other times too," Rachel remembered.

"That's because you always do great," Finn told Rachel. "You're amazing."

x

It had been about three hours, and Allie, Emma, Ryan and Sarah were still in the waiting room. Finn had told them a little while back that he didn't want them in the delivery room when the babies were born because Rachel would be in a lot of pain. Allie was just hoping her mom was okay.

"Grandma! Grandpa!" Allie heard Sarah say. She looked and saw Burt and Carole coming in.

"Hi guys," Carole said. "How's your mom?"

"She still didn't have the babies yet," Emma said.

"I hope she will soon," Burt said. He turned to Jessica's mom. "Thanks for taking them here."

"No problem," Jessica's mom said. "Call us when the babies are born."

"Are Grandpa Hiram and Grandpa LeRoy coming?" Ryan asked.

"Of course they are," Burt said as he sat down with his grandchildren. "It shouldn't be much longer."

"We talked to them before we left," Carole added. She turned to Allie. "You know, we were at the hospital when you were born."

"Really?" Allie asked.

"Yeah," Carole said. "I remember the way Finn and Rachel looked at you that day. They loved you so much right away."

Allie smiled. It had been the picture she'd seen of Finn and Rachel with her the day she was born that was one of the major things that helped her open her heart to them.

x

"We did it," Rachel said with tears in her eyes as she held her newborn daughter and Finn held their son.

"Six kids," Finn said as a tear of his own fell. He looked at his daughter in Rachel's arms, then at his son in his own arms. "They look so much like both of us."

"They do," Finn agreed. He looked up as their four older kids came in with his parents and Rachel's dads.

"Hey guys," Finn said.

"Okay, don't keep it a secret anymore," Allie said. "Who are these little guys?"

"This is Cory Christopher Hudson," Finn said proudly. He looked at Rachel, letting her know that it was her job to introduce the kids to their sister.

"And this is Lea Michelle Hudson," Rachel said.

"Awww," Emma said, looking at the babies. "They're so cute."

"So I was right," Allie said. "His name starts with a C and her name starts with an L."

"Yeah, you were right," Rachel said.

"Can I hold one of them?" Sarah asked.

"Of course you can," Rachel said. "Just sit close to me because you're little and they're even littler."

Sarah sat next to Rachel on the hospital bed as Rachel handed Lea to her now second youngest daughter. "She's so cute!" Sarah said.

"May I hold my little brother?" Ryan asked.

"Of course you can," Finn said. "That's what big brothers do."

Ryan sat down as Finn handed Cory to Ryan. "They're both so perfect," Burt said to Finn and Rachel. "I hope you send photos to your brother."

"Oh, I will," Finn said.

"How did you two do it?" Carole asked. "Six perfect kids? It was hard enough for me to do one."

"That's a good question," Rachel said.

"May I hold one of them now?" Emma asked.

"Of course," Rachel said. "Sarah, how about you give your sister a turn?"

Sarah pouted. "Okay." Rachel took Lea out of Sarah's arms and put her in Emma's.

Then Rachel looked at Allie. "Allie, would you like to hold one of them?"

Allie looked nervous. Rachel knew that Ryan and Emma had done this before, but for Allie, holding a baby brother or sister was a new experience. "I'd love to," Allie said.

"Okay, Ryan, it's your sister's turn," Finn said as he handed Cory to Allie. Allie looked at her little brother.

"Hi Cory," Allie said softly. "I'm Allie, your big sister."

Cory opened his eyes and looked up at Allie. Allie looked over at Finn and Rachel. "I'm really glad I'm here for this," she told her parents.

Finn and Rachel exchanged a look. "So are we," Finn said.

"I want to hold my little brother now!" Emma said.

"Yeah, and I want to hold my other little sister," Ryan said.

"Of course you two can," Finn said. "Then Sarah gets a turn to hold Cory and Allie gets a turn to hold Lea."

x

Allie didn't want to leave the hospital even after they'd been there for a few hours. She wanted to stay with her parents and with her new little brother and sister. Burt and Carole were spending the night with the four older kids so that Finn could be at the hospital with Rachel, Lea and Cory. Burt, Carole, Hiram and LeRoy had taken lots of photos (including a few of Finn and Rachel with all six of their kids) to send to Kurt and Blaine. Kurt had replied almost instantly, saying he'd passed on the photos to all the New Directions alumni and that he, Blaine and their sons would come to Cleveland as soon as they could to meet Cory and Lea.

"Finn, Rachel, we should get your older kids home," Burt said.

"I don't want to leave," Allie said.

"We don't want you to leave either, it's been an exciting day for all of us," Rachel said. "But we do need to get some sleep."

"We can come back and visit first thing tomorrow morning, right?" Emma asked.

"Of course," Finn said.

"I can't wait until they come home," Ryan said.

"Oh, neither can we," Finn agreed.

Allie looked at her little brother and sister sleeping in the hospital cribs. "Good night Cory. Good night Lea." She turned to her parents. "They're so adorable."

"All six of our kids are perfect," Rachel said.

"We'll see you guys in the morning," Finn said.

As Allie left the hospital with her grandparents and siblings, she thought about this past year. So many things had happened that she never imagined would happen. She missed her adoptive parents every day, but she was so happy that Finn, Rachel, Emma, Ryan, Sarah, Cory and Lea were now part of her life. She looked in the room so she could see her little brother and sister one last time before going home.


	21. Chapter 21: Welcome Home

_Hi everyone. I am SO sorry it took so long for me to update. I'll admit, this week it's been pretty tough to write, especially with the Cory memorial episode airing so soon. I considered going on hiatus, but then I thought that Cory would want me to keep the couple he loved so much going somehow. The promo for the memorial episode, as I'm sure you could have guessed, made me very, very sad. It will be so hard to say goodbye to such a beloved character._

_Sorry for the sad note. Anyway, I made this chapter a happy one. There are a few chapters left in this story and in my other story, and I already have plans for my next story. Hope you enjoy this chapter!_

Chapter 21: Welcome Home

"Are you ready to go home?" Finn asked Rachel.

Rachel smiled. "Yup!"

"Let's get home then!" Allie said. She was excited for her new little brother and sister to come home. For the past few days, Burt and Carole had stayed at the house with Allie, Emma, Ryan and Sarah so that Finn could be at the hospital with Rachel, Cory and Lea. The doctors had decided that Cory and Lea were ready to go home, so today they'd be going home.

Finn picked up Cory's carrier and Rachel picked up Lea's. The kids looked at their little siblings. "You're going to get to go home now!" Emma said.

"They're so cute!" Sarah said.

"They are," Finn agreed. "We've gotten so many texts from our Glee friends telling us how cute they are."

"Well, they are!" Sarah said.

The family went down the hall and to their car. Allie looked over at the babies, both of whom were asleep. Then, Lea opened her eyes and started crying.

"Don't cry, Lea," Allie said softly. "We're going home."

Lea looked over at Allie and Allie smiled at her. "That's right, it's okay," Allie said. "I'm Allie, your big sister."

"I think they know we're their big brother and sisters now!" Ryan said. "We've spent a lot of time with them lately."

"You never know," Rachel said as they pulled up in front of their house. "Well, we're home." She looked back at her two youngest children. "Ready to go home for the first time?"

Lea was already awake, but she made a small noise. Then Cory opened his eyes and looked at Rachel. "Did you sleep well, baby boy?" Rachel asked.

"Let's get them in," Finn said as he picked up the carriers. Ryan and Emma helped Rachel up the stairs and Allie unlocked the door.

"Welcome home, guys," Finn said to his two youngest children as they went in the house. Burt, Carole, Hiram and LeRoy were waiting in the living room.

"You're bringing your children home!" LeRoy said.

"Yes," Finn said. "It's hard to believe all six of them are home now."

"May I hold my little brother or sister?" Allie asked. She'd really enjoyed holding them.

"Of course you can," Rachel said. As Allie sat down, Rachel put Lea in Allie's arms.

"Hi Lea," Allie said softly. "This is our home where we are now."

"Kurt and Blaine told us they want to come in from New York soon to meet the babies," Burt said. "They love the pictures we sent them."

"We'd love for them to meet their niece and nephew," Finn said. "We really would like all our friends to meet them."

"Well, when they're old enough to travel, maybe come to Lima for a weekend," Carole suggested. "I'm sure all your Glee friends would like to meet them."

"Cory looks just like Finn did in his baby pictures," Burt pointed out.

"And Lea looks just like Rachel's baby pictures," Hiram said.

"Not quite JUST like us," Rachel said. "Luckily for them, they both have Finn's nose, and they both have my mouth."

"They are so perfect," Finn said.

x

Later that night, Burt, Carole, Hiram and LeRoy had gone back to their hotels, and Finn and Rachel were at the house alone with all the kids. Rachel was preparing bottles for Cory and Lea, so Allie decided to help her mom with that while Finn watched them, along with Ryan, Emma and Sarah.

"Are you glad you don't have to give them up?" Allie asked her mom.

"So glad," Rachel said. "You see how much we love them right away. We fell in love with you right away too, and with your siblings. It was so hard to let you go." Rachel began crying. "I'm sorry honey. Birth makes you emotional."

"It's okay, Mom, I'm here now," Allie said. "I'm not going anywhere, and neither are any of them." She picked up the bottles and carried them to the living room, where Ryan was holding Lea and Emma was holding Cory.

"Did you bring their dinner, Mommy?" Ryan asked.

"I did," Rachel said. "Would you two like to feed them, since you're holding them?"

"YES!" Ryan and Emma both exclaimed. Finn and Rachel showed their older set of twins how to feed their younger set while Allie and Sarah watched. Allie turned to her little sister. "Two sets of twins. You and I are outnumbered."

"What's outnumbered?" Sarah asked.

"We're the only ones who aren't twins," Allie said.

"Yeah," Sarah said. "Aren't they cute?"

"They are," Allie agreed.

"Will they cry a lot at night?" Ryan asked.

"Well, babies do cry," Finn said. "The three of you all cried a lot, but you guys might not hear them since they're sleeping in Mommy's and my room." Since the new addition to their house wasn't quite finished yet, Cory and Lea would be sleeping in Finn and Rachel's room for now.

After finishing his bottle, Cory started to cry. "Did he not like his bottle?" Emma asked. "Or am I not holding him right?"

"It's okay, honey, I just think he's tired," Finn said, picking up his son. "It's been a long day."

"It is kind of late," Rachel said.

"Should we put them to bed?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah," Rachel said. "The four of you can help if you want."

"Of course we want!" Emma said. Allie, Emma, Ryan and Sarah followed their parents upstairs to their bedroom. Finn and Rachel had their own bathroom in their room, so the kids decided to let them handle the diaper changing. (All four of them didn't like the smell.) They did get the pajamas ready for their siblings, they'd helped to pick out the pajamas. Cory's were gray with footballs on them and Lea's were white with pink flowers.

"How were their diapers?" Ryan asked when Finn and Rachel came out of the bathroom.

"They were diapers," Finn laughed. "Look Cory, look Lea. Big brother and big sisters got your pajamas ready."

The kids helped their parents get their siblings into the pajamas before they said good night to their brother and sister and went to bed.

x

The next day, Allie had gotten Emma and Ryan to wake up early and make breakfast for their parents, since the past few days had been so crazy. Of course, being young kids, they couldn't very well make anything special. The three of them had put together a fruit salad and buttered some bread. They heard some noise and began worrying because they weren't ready yet, but it was just Sarah coming downstairs.

"What are you doing?" Sarah asked.

"We're making breakfast for Mommy and Daddy!" Ryan said.

"It was Allie's idea," Emma said.

"Can I help?" Sarah asked.

Allie smiled at her sister. "Of course! Can you put the plates on the table?"

"Yeah!" Sarah said.

The four of them continued getting breakfast ready. "I wonder if Lea and Cory kept Mommy and Daddy up last night?" Emma asked.

"Daddy said I always kept them up," Sarah said.

"You kept me and Ryan up, too!" Emma said.

"I'm sorry," Sarah said.

Finally, breakfast was ready, and the four kids went upstairs to their parents' room. Rachel and Finn were sound asleep, as were Lea and Cory. Allie quietly nudged their bed. "Mommy, Daddy, wake up."

Finn opened his eyes. "Oh, hey guys." He nudged Rachel, who then looked over at the kids.

"Were Cory and Lea up a lot last night?" Allie asked.

"They were," Finn said. "I think they're still getting used to their new home." He went over to the cribs and picked up Cory and Lea, kissing their foreheads. "Hey little guys. Did you enjoy the first night at home?"

"We made you breakfast!" Sarah blurted out.

Allie smiled at Sarah. "That was supposed to be a surprise!"

"You guys did?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, we did," Emma said.

"Thanks, guys," Finn said. "Let's get downstairs."

x

Cory and Lea took a nap later that morning while Finn and Rachel were resting in their room. Since they'd both been up a lot with Cory and Lea last night, they figured they'd nap while the twins took their nap. After about an hour, they heard a knock on their bedroom door. "Come in," Rachel said.

Allie came in. "Someone's here to see you."

"You guys let them in?" Finn asked. "Allie, your mom and the babies just got home from the hospital yesterday..."

"You'll want to see them, trust me," Allie said.

Finn got up, took Rachel's hand and followed Allie downstairs. They saw Kurt and Blaine and their sons sitting there with Ryan, Emma and Sarah.

"Where are they?" Blaine asked.

"They're napping," Rachel said as she hugged her brothers-in-law. "When did you get in?"

"We just got here," Kurt said. "We thought we'd surprise you."

"Can I see the babies, Auntie Rachel?" Michael asked.

Small cries came on the baby monitor. "I guess they're up," Finn said. "So yes, come with us."

Kurt picked up Brendan as he, Blaine and Michael followed Finn and Rachel upstairs and into their bedroom. Lea was still asleep, but Cory was awake and crying. Finn picked up his son. "It's okay, baby boy. Daddy's here."

"So is Mommy," Rachel said. "And look, Uncle Kurt and Uncle Blaine came to meet you with Michael and Brendan."

"They're so little!" Michael said.

"So was Brendan when he was born," Blaine reminded his son.

They heard another small cry and Rachel went over to Lea's crib. "You're up too, now."

"Can you guys believe you have two sets of twins now?" Kurt asked.

"We barely can," Finn said as he looked at Cory in his arms, then at Lea in Rachel's.

"We have presents for them," Michael said.

"You do?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, we do," Kurt said. "Come on downstairs and we'll give them to you."

"Cory, Lea, did you hear that?" Finn asked. "Your uncles got gifts for you!"

They went back downstairs where Finn and Rachel's other kids were waiting. Kurt looked at Lea and Cory. "Would you like your gifts?"

"Of course they do!" Emma said. "Everyone loves gifts!"

The older kids helped with the unwrapping. The Hummel-Andersons had given Lea and Cory each a small stuffed teddy bear.

"I know you were hesitant at first," Rachel heard Blaine say to Allie. "Are you happy with having a little brother and sister now?"

"I don't know why I didn't want Mom to have a baby!" Allie said. "I love them so much." That made Rachel feel so happy. These past few days had been some of the best of her life, special time with her husband, her six amazing kids and her extended family.


	22. Chapter 22: Diapers and Last Names

_Hi! Again, another longer wait for an update :( I'm so sorry :( I really am happy with how this chapter turned out though and I hope you guys enjoy this too! I'm thinking this story will be 25 chapters. However, it may be a while until the next update. With the Cory memorial episode tomorrow, I may be too upset to write for a little while. I hope you guys understand and I hope that everyone does okay tomorrow. I know it will be tough._

_Hope you guys like this chapter and review if I should keep going! As always, I don't own Glee, I only own Allie, Emma, Ryan, Sarah, Cory, Lea, Adam, Maddie, Michael and Brendan._

Chapter 22: Diapers and Last Names

The summer was about half over and the addition to the Hudsons' house had finally finished about a week ago. Allie, Emma and Ryan had moved into their new bedrooms. Lea had Allie's old bedroom, Cory had Ryan's and Sarah now had her and Emma's old room to herself.

The summer had been great. The family would be going to New York at the end of the summer to visit Kurt, Blaine, Michael and Brendan. Allie (and Lindsay and Jessica) had gone to the same sleepaway camp Emma and Ava went to for a week and had a great time horseback riding, swimming, hiking, boating, making crafts, building campfires, rock climbing and biking. She'd also spent just about every day she'd spent at home at the pool.

It was the middle of the night and Allie was thirsty, so she started to go into the kitchen and get some water. She was still getting used to not waking up in her old bedroom, to only having to walk down the hall to get to the kitchen rather than down the stairs. As she began going back to her room, she thought she heard something on one of the baby monitors in the living room. Looking closely, she noticed that it was on the blue baby monitor. She went upstairs to Cory's room.

When Allie went inside, she saw Cory with his eyes open, rolling around clutching his blanket. She stood next to his crib. "Are you awake, Cory?"

Cory made a few soft noises. Allie reached into the crib and stroked her little brother's cheek. "Hi baby boy."

"Looks like I got beaten," a voice said from the doorway. Allie looked up and saw Finn.

"Hi Dad," Allie said. "I was getting myself some water and heard something on the baby monitor."

Finn went up to Cory's crib. "How are you doing, little guy?" He picked up his son and gave him a kiss. "Oh dear, I think you need your diaper changed."

"Can I try changing the diaper?" Allie asked. She hadn't changed Cory or Lea's diaper yet.

"Are you sure?" Finn asked. "It's pretty gross."

"Why not give it a try?" Allie asked.

"Okay, but I'll finish if you decide not to," Finn told her. He put Cory on the changing table and took off his sleeper.

"So what do I do?" Allie asked.

"Well, first you unstick the straps," Finn said as Allie took the straps off Cory's diaper. When she opened it, she jumped back briefly and held her nose.

"Yuck! That's gross!" Allie said, then regretting how loud she was.

"I warned you," Finn told her.

"Are you still open to finishing?" Allie asked, looking at her dad and giggling.

Finn laughed. "I thought you'd say that. Get me the wipies."

Allie handed the wipies to her dad as she watched him finish up Cory's diaper. "I'll finish one day, I promise," Allie giggled.

"Don't worry, it's not your job," Finn said. "I think he'd like his big sister to hold him though."

"I'd love that," Allie said as she held Cory and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

"You'd better get back to bed, baby boy," Finn said. "Want me to sing you something? I know you and Lea like it when Mommy and Daddy sing to you."

"I bet he will," Allie said as she listened to Finn sing to Cory.

_Oh, why you look so sad?  
Tears are in your eyes  
Come on and come to me now  
Don't be ashamed to cry  
Let me see you through  
'Cause I've seen the dark side too  
When the night falls on you  
You don't know what to do  
Nothing you confess  
Could make me love you less  
I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you  
Won't let nobody hurt you  
I'll stand by you  
So if you're mad, get mad  
Don't hold it all inside  
Come on and talk to me now  
Hey, what you got to hide?  
I get angry too  
Well I'm a lot like you  
When you're standing at the crossroads  
Don't know which path to choose  
Let me come along  
'Cause even if you're wrong  
I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you  
Won't let nobody hurt you  
I'll stand by you  
Take me in into your darkest hour  
And I'll never desert you  
I'll stand by you  
And when...  
When the night falls on you, baby  
You're feeling all alone  
You won't be on your own  
I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you  
Won't let nobody hurt you  
I'll stand by you  
Take me in, into your darkest hour  
And I'll never desert you  
I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you  
Won't let nobody hurt you  
I'll stand by you  
And I'll never desert you  
I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you  
Won't let nobody hurt you  
I'll stand by you_

By the end of the song, Cory was sound asleep and Finn and Allie put him back in his crib. "You're really good with him," Finn said. "And with Lea."

"I love being a big sister," Allie said.

"Well, you're a great one," Finn said. "We'd better get back to bed too. I love you."

"Good night Dad, I love you too," Allie said before going back to her room.

x

"So, I heard you chickened out of changing Cory's diaper last night?" Rachel teased Allie at breakfast the next morning.

"It smelled really bad and it was gross," Allie said.

"I bet it was gross," Sarah said.

"Your diapers were gross too!" Ryan said to Sarah.

"Ryan, you can't remember Sarah's diapers," Finn said.

"I sort of do," Ryan said. "They were gross!"

"All babies have gross diapers, guys," Rachel said.

"Where are they now, anyway?" Sarah asked.

"I think they're still asleep, guys," Rachel said. She turned to the three oldest kids. "How are you three enjoying sleeping in the new bedrooms?"

"I like mine," Ryan said.

"I like mine too," Emma said. "I like having my own room. Now I don't have to stay out of my room while Sarah's asleep."

"Hey!" Sarah teased.

"Our house is a lot bigger now," Ryan said.

"Well, we have a big family," Allie said. She'd never imagined having five siblings.

They heard some noise from the baby monitors on the living room.

"Sounds like someone's up," Rachel said.

"I'll go with you," Allie said.

"Okay," Rachel said as she and Allie went upstairs. Both Cory and Lea were awake. Rachel changed their diapers and started to go downstairs with them and Allie.

"Mom?" Allie asked as they were on the way down.

"What is it, sweetheart?" Rachel asked.

"Can I take Cory and Lea for their morning walk today?" Allie asked. Every day, Rachel or Finn took the babies for a walk in their double stroller around their neighborhood. Allie, Ryan, Emma or Sarah often came along, but Allie kind of wanted to do it herself today.

"You're really stepping into the big sister role," Rachel said. "Of course you can. I think they need their breakfast first though."

"Hi Cory. Hi Lea," Sarah said as Rachel and Allie got downstairs with their little ones.

"Did you help your mom with the diapers this time?" Finn asked.

"I let her do it," Allie laughed. "But I am taking them for their morning walk."

"Can I go too?" Emma asked.

"Of course you can," Rachel said. After feeding Lea and Cory, Rachel put them in the double stroller, and Allie and Emma left to take them for their morning walk.

"Did you really try to change Cory's diaper?" Emma asked as they were walking.

"Yeah," Allie said. "Never again."

Both girls laughed. Emma looked down at Lea and Cory in their stroller. "I think they like us."

"Of course they do," Allie said. "I'm so glad Mom and Dad trust us to take them by ourselves."

"Yeah," Emma said. "When Sarah was a baby, Ryan and I weren't allowed alone with her."

"You were only four at the time," Allie said.

"Just like Sarah is now," Emma said. "I wonder if when Lea and Cory are four, Mommy and Daddy will have a baby again."

"I don't know," Allie said. "Six kids is already a lot."

After a little more walking, Allie and Emma got back home. "Did you girls have a nice walk?" Finn asked, taking Lea and Cory out of the double stroller and giving them each a quick kiss.

"Yeah, we did," Emma said.

"Some time, can I take them for a private walk?" Ryan asked.

"Next time Allie goes alone, you can go too," Finn said.

"Cool!" Ryan said.

"I do think it's time for these two to take a nap though," Finn said, taking Cory and Lea up to their rooms. "We want them to be up for when the Puckermans get here." Today, Puck, Quinn, Beth, Adam and Maddie were coming out to Cleveland for the afternoon to meet Cory and Lea.

x

A couple hours later, the door bell rang and Allie went to answer it. She went to the door and saw Puck, Quinn and their kids. "Hi Allie," Quinn said. "Where are the little ones?"

"They're still napping," Allie said. "Come on in."

Rachel came into the living room. "Hey guys, thanks for coming."

"We have to meet Cory and Lea," Puck said.

"Yeah, we would have come to Lima, but things have been pretty crazy," Rachel said.

"We understand," Quinn said as they came in.

"Where's Ryan?" Adam asked.

"He'll be here soon," Rachel said.

Finn came downstairs with the Hudsons' five other kids. "There they are!" Quinn said.

"Wow, they're so cute!" Maddie said.

"What's it like having five siblings now?" Beth whispered to Allie.

"It's great," Allie whispered back.

"Ryan can you play with me?" Adam asked.

"Sure!" Ryan said as they went to Ryan's room.

"Can I hold a baby?" Maddie asked.

"Of course you can," Rachel said, handing Lea to Maddie. "Your mommy needs to help you."

"They are so cute, you two," Puck said.

"Well, what can I say, Rach and I have a pretty good track record with this," Finn smirked.

"Hey, so do we," Puck said.

"Can I see your new room?" Beth asked Allie.

"Sure," Allie said. The Puckermans hadn't been to Cleveland since the addition to the Hudsons' house had been finished, so Allie led Beth to her new room. "This is it."

"It's nice," Beth said. "So Lea has your old room?"

"Yeah, she does," Allie said. "It's still hard to believe that I have five younger siblings now..."

"Do you ever feel left out?" Beth asked. "I mean, all your siblings' last name is Hudson, and yours isn't..."

Allie hadn't thought about that before. She definitely felt like part of the Hudson family, but at the same time, she did have some loyalty to her birth parents and she loved them. She'd grown to love Finn, Rachel, Emma, Ryan, Sarah, Cory and Lea as well, and it was hard explaining to everyone why she had a different last name from her parents and her siblings. She didn't really like talking about her back story, but the questions were definitely there when people noticed that she had a different last name from her parents and siblings.

Beth seemed to know what Allie was thinking. "My parents and I did decide to go through the legal work to change my last name to Puckerman. I love my adoptive mom, but it just makes everything easier, you know?"

"Yeah," Allie said. "It probably would be easier if my last name was Hudson." She hadn't thought about this really before, but maybe that would make things easier.

x

Later that day, the Puckermans had gone back to Lima, and Allie was still thinking about her conversation with Beth. The five younger kids had gone to bed, and Allie would probably also be going to bed soon, but she was still thinking as she watched the movie.

"Are you okay?" Rachel asked, coming into the living room.

"Yeah," Allie said. She was tempted to say something to Rachel about possibly changing her last name to Hudson, but then they heard a cry on one of the baby monitors. "That sounds like Lea," Rachel said. "Want to come with me?"

"Sure," Allie said. Maybe she wasn't ready to talk about this just yet. She went with Rachel to Lea's room.

"Hi Lea," Allie said, picking up her little sister. "What's wrong? Maybe Mommy should sing you something." Lea and Cory always seemed to fall back to sleep when Finn and Rachel sang to them.

As Allie cradled Lea, Rachel began to sing to her.

_When the rain is blowing in your face  
And the whole world is on your case  
I could offer you a warm embrace  
To make you feel my love  
When the evening shadows and the stars appear  
And there is no one there to dry your tears  
I could hold you for a million years  
To make you feel my love  
I know you haven't made your mind up yet  
But I would never do you wrong  
I've known it from the moment that we met  
No doubt in my mind where you belong  
I'd go hungry, I'd go black and blue  
And I'd go crawling down the avenue  
No, there's nothing that I wouldn't do  
To make you feel my love  
Oohh  
Oh, the storms are raging on the rolling sea  
And on the highway of regret  
The winds of change are blowing wild and free  
You ain't seen nothing like me yet  
I could make you happy, make your dreams come true  
Nothing that I wouldn't do  
Go to the ends of the Earth for you  
To make you feel my love  
To make you feel my love_

As predicted, Lea was asleep by the end of the song.

"You're really talented Mom," Allie said. "And so is Dad."

"That's probably why you're a good instrumentalist," Rachel said as she put Lea back in the crib.

"Mom?" Allie asked, tempted to ask Rachel again about changing her last name.

"What is it, honey?" Rachel asked.

Again, Allie was afraid to say anything. "I just wanted to thank you for everything you've done for me since..."

"Oh, you know we'll do whatever we can for you," Rachel said, giving Allie a hug. "Your dad and I have always loved you."

_SONGS: I'll Stand By You by the Pretenders (performed by Finn Hudson) and Make You Feel My Love by Bob Dylan (performed by Rachel Hudson)_

_Chapter 23 preview: As the new school year's beginning comes closer, Allie tells Finn and Rachel about her conversation with Beth. She also sees one of her friends from when she lived with her adoptive parents._


	23. Chapter 23: Unexpected

_Thanks as always for all your support! I really appreciate it. I have been asked several times what Finchel's kids look like - there are now photos of them on my Tumblr if you're wondering. My Tumblr is FinchelFan728. This chapter didn't turn out how I was expecting it to, but I am happy with how it turned out. Hope you enjoy it and review if you want me to continue :)_

Chapter 23: Unexpected

"Where are we going?" Ryan asked.

"We told you, it's a surprise!" Finn called back.

"Where could we be going?" Allie whispered to Emma.

"No idea," Emma whispered back. "This drive is familiar."

"It is, but I can't remember where it is," Allie said.

"At least the babies are sleeping," Ryan said.

"I'm sure they'll be awake when we get there," Rachel said. She turned down a long, winding road, similar to the one that led to the camp Allie and Emma had gone to earlier this year. Then, Rachel pulled up to a big sign. "Welcome to Camp North Star for Boys!"

"Hey Ryan, how'd you like to spend a week at camp with Nick?" Finn asked.

"That would be awesome!" Ryan shouted. He'd been jealous when Allie and Emma went to camp earlier in the summer.

"So it's a surprise for Ryan," Emma whispered to Allie.

"I heard you two," Rachel said. "Maybe now would be a good time to tell you your part of the surprise. This is your camp's brother camp. We managed to get you each an extra week of camp."

"Yay!" Allie and Emma cheered.

"Yes, Emma, Ava will be there, too," Rachel said. "And yes, Allie, so will Lindsay and Jessica."

"This is so cool!" Allie said. Time couldn't pass fast enough as they checked Ryan into camp and walked him to his cabin, where Nick was waiting.

"Ryan!" Nick exclaimed.

"Nick!" Ryan said. "Aren't you excited?"

"Yeah," Nick said. He turned to Finn and Rachel. "My parents said this was your idea."

"Yeah," Finn said. "We saw how much fun the girls had and thought you guys should do it, too."

"Thank you," Ryan said. "I'll see you in a week!"

"You're anxious for us to go, huh?" Finn asked.

"Hey, that means we get to camp sooner!" Emma said.

"Okay, have fun," Rachel said as she, Finn and the girls said goodbye to Ryan and Nick. The girls' camp, Camp White Lake, was about ten minutes away from the boys' camp. Since the girls had already been once this summer, the check-in procedures were a breeze. Finn, Rachel and Allie dropped Emma off at her cabin first (Ava wasn't there yet) and then took Allie to the adirondack unit her group was staying in. Older girls stayed in platform tents or adirondacks, which were mini cabins, at this camp.

"Hi!" one of the counselors said. "Welcome back, Allie!"

"Hi!" Allie said. She hadn't had this counselor last time she was at camp, but she'd seen her around camp.

"You're in Adirondack 3," the counselor said. "Lindsay and Jessica aren't here yet, but they'll be here soon, I'm sure. Like last time, there will be a fourth girl in the adirondack with you."

"No problem!" Allie said. Last time she was at camp, she, Lindsay and Jessica had gotten along well with Maggie, the fourth girl in their adirondack.

Finn, Rachel, Allie and Sarah (and Cory and Lea in their double stroller) headed to Adirondack 3. Allie looked at the sign on the door. "Adirondack 3: Allie, Jessica, Lindsay, Veronica."

She had to admit, the name Veronica made her think of her old friend from Columbus who hadn't been very nice to her when she went back to visit. She still got together with Kate, but she hadn't seen Veronica since that one time.

"Are you okay?" Rachel asked as they moved Allie's stuff in.

"What if the Veronica in my adirondack is my old friend from Columbus who said mean things about you and Dad?" Allie asked. She knew that probably wasn't the case, but that was a possibility.

"I doubt it," Finn said. "There's a lot of girls out there named Veronica."

"I guess you're right," Allie said as they started to put her bed together. When Allie's bed was put together, Lindsay arrived, which made Allie start to feel better.

"We'll see you in a week, okay?" Finn said as he gave Allie a hug.

"Yup!" Allie said. Maybe there was no need to be nervous.

"Okay," Rachel said. "Be sure to be there for Emma if she needs you."

"I'm sure she'll be fine!" Allie laughed as she hugged Finn, Rachel and Sarah goodbye and gave Lea and Cory each a kiss.

x

"Do you think it's the Veronica from Columbus?" Rachel asked Finn as they headed for the parking lot. That possibility hadn't occurred to her until Allie had said something.

"I doubt it," Finn said. "Even if it is, she has her two best friends with her." (They'd seen Jessica arriving as they left the adirondack site.)

"Hi!" a voice called. Finn and Rachel turned to see Ava arriving with her parents. They waved and got Lea and Cory's carseats in the car.

"I wish I could go to camp, too," Sarah said.

"You remember the camp rule, you have to be six," Rachel said, trying not to think about that possibility of Allie's old friend showing up.

Sarah pouted. "Two more years."

"It'll be here before you know it," Finn said as they started to drive home.

"Do you think Cory and Lea will miss Allie, Emma and Ryan this week?" Sarah asked.

"I'm sure they will," Rachel said. "We all will."

x

Allie, Lindsay and Jessica had just gotten their beds together in their adirondack when the door opened. Allie saw - Veronica. And her parents.

"Allie?" Veronica asked.

"Veronica?" Allie asked. She didn't think it would actually end up being her.

"What are you doing here?"

"Allie, we haven't heard from you in a while," Veronica's dad said. "So, how's Cleveland?"

"It's good," Allie said. "These are my friends Jessica and Lindsay." She didn't know what to say. She hadn't called Veronica (or Danielle) because of the things that were said about Finn and Rachel.

"Are you getting along with your birth parents?" Veronica's mom asked.

"Yeah," Allie said. "My mom had twins a few months ago, a boy and a girl. And my sister Emma's here this week, too."

"Very nice," Veronica's dad said. "Well, it's nice to see you, Allie."

"Yeah, you too," Allie said. She took Lindsay and Jessica's arms. "Let's go meet our counselors while they set up her bed."

"Is that one of the girls who said mean things about your parents?" Jessica asked as they left.

"Yeah," Allie said. She didn't know how she would be able to handle a week in a cabin with Veronica. It was easy to avoid her when she was in Cleveland and Veronica was in Columbus, but this would be tough.

x

Allie spent the afternoon trying to distance herself from her former friend, which was tough. The first thing to happen at camp was always the swim test. At least Allie, Jessica and Lindsay had tested into the deep end, while Veronica had to stay in the middle end. Allie made up her mind right then and there to spend her swim time in the deep end and get Lindsay and Jessica to do the same. Veronica had tried to talk to Allie at the pool, and Allie was polite, but reserved.

After the swim test, the counselors led the unit to dinner. "Let's try to find three seats together, where it's the only three left at the table," Lindsay whispered to Jessica and Allie as they went into the dining hall.

Allie knew why Lindsay was suggesting that, and she liked the idea. As soon as the girls got into the dining hall, they found a table with only three empty seats - one that Emma and Ava were also sitting at.

"Hi guys!" Ava said.

"Emma, one of my friends from Columbus is here," Allie said. "One of the ones who said mean things about Mom and Dad."

"What?" Emma asked.

"Yeah," Jessica said. "She's in our adirondack."

"Is something going on, girls?" the counselor at the head of the table asked.

"Nothing," Allie, Lindsay, Jessica, Emma and Ava said. Allie tried to distract herself. She always liked the first night meal - pizza, corn, salad and brownies. That was a good thing.

"So, are you girls excited for a week at camp?" the table head counselor asked as she served the girls their food.

"Yeah," Allie said. But she was more excited before she found out who the fourth girl in her adirondack would be.

x

Allie was able to pretty much avoid Veronica for the rest of the evening - the counselors gave them a walking tour of the camp and then the whole camp gathered for a welcome campfire. But by the time the girls were in their adirondack for the night, Allie was out of luck.

"So why haven't you been down to Columbus, Allie?" Veronica asked.

"It's just been really busy, with my mom having babies," Allie said. That was at least part true. When she got together with Kate, Kate had come up to Cleveland.

"So you have five brothers and sisters now?" Veronica asked.

"Yeah," Allie said. "Two brothers, three sisters."

"Wow," Veronica said.

"Allie's brothers and sisters are cool," Jessica said. "Her sister Emma's here."

"Yeah, I think I saw her," Veronica said. "You know, Kate doesn't really hang out with Danielle and me anymore. Not since you visited."

"Really?" Allie asked. At least Veronica did remember Allie's visit.

"Yeah, a new girl named Julia moved to Columbus shortly after you visited, and Kate mostly hangs out with her now," Veronica said.

Kate had told Allie that she didn't like the way Veronica and Danielle had acted when she visited. Allie was about to say something when they heard a call from the counselors' cabin. "Adirondack 3, stop talking!"

Allie fell asleep. Hopefully she'd be able to hang out with Lindsay and Jessica tomorrow and not worry about the risk of Veronica saying more things that would upset her about Finn and Rachel.

x

"So, Veronica, how did you find out about this camp?" Lindsay asked. It was the next morning, and the girls had figured they may as well be civil to Veronica.

"My mom found it online," Veronica said. "I tried to convince Danielle to come with me, but she didn't like the idea of not having toilets."

"That sounds like Danielle," Allie said.

"Yeah," Veronica said as the girls went to join their counselors. Allie, Lindsay and Jessica had managed to find a table away from Allie's former friend at breakfast. However, the adirondacks were grouped together for chores, so that meant Allie would have to spend time with her former friend. Soon they'd be going to the arts and crafts center.

"I wrote Danielle a letter and told her you're here," Veronica said to Allie as they arrived.

"Oh, tell her I said hi," Allie said. Honestly, she was more annoyed with Danielle since Danielle had been the one who started the whole thing.

Veronica sat with Allie, Lindsay and Jessica during arts and crafts and also at their table at lunch. After lunch they had rest hour where they were in their cabin, but the group went swimming after rest hour, and Allie could go in the deep end with Lindsay and Jessica.

"Is she really pretending she didn't say those things to you?" Jessica asked as they got in the pool.

"I think so," Allie said.

"Ugh," Lindsay said.

"She thinks I've forgotten," Allie said. "Well, I haven't forgotten and I won't forget. Kate and her mom apologized and Kate didn't even say anything. Why can't she just apologize?"

"I don't know," Lindsay said. The girls just enjoyed their time in the pool together until swimming time was up. After swimming time was up, the counselor gathered the girls and told them about tomorrow's afternoon activity, electives. Electives was when girls would choose activities individually rather than do it as a group. This week, the choices were free swim, sports, creek hike or cooking a snack.

Right after the counselor put down the sign up sheet and told the girls to sign up for the activity they wanted, Veronica turned to Allie. "What do you think you'll do?"

Allie paused. "Swimming." It was the one way to guarantee that she wouldn't have to worry about Veronica saying more mean things about her parents.

"I was thinking I'd go on the creek hike," Lindsay said.

"Yeah, me too," Jessica said.

"It's been hot this week," Allie said.

x

"So you can't get rid of her?" Emma asked at dinner. Emma's group was the hoppers for dinner tonight, which meant they'd bring the food to the tables. Allie had managed to get a seat at the table Emma would bring the food to.

"Yup," Allie said to her sister. "I didn't like the things she said about our parents before."

Veronica came and sat down at the table as well. "You're Allie's sister, right?"

"Yeah," Emma said. "Don't be mean to my sister!"

"What are you talking about?" Veronica asked.

"Allie told me about the things that you and Danielle said about our parents," Emma said. "Our parents love Allie! They just didn't think they were ready to have a kid when she was born. They were older when they had the rest of us so that's why they didn't give us up."

Allie didn't know what to say. Emma had said what she'd had in her mind all week.

"You were still upset about that?" Veronica asked Allie.

"Yeah," Allie said.

"Is that why you haven't been friendly this week?" Veronica asked.

"Yeah," Allie repeated.

"Oh," Veronica said. She didn't say anything else though.

x

For the rest of the week at camp, Veronica didn't talk much to Allie. Allie admitted to herself that maybe she shouldn't have been so mad, but on the other hand, Veronica didn't apologize when Allie had brought it up. The rest of the week at camp was fun - Allie mostly hung out with Lindsay and Jessica and a few other girls she'd befriended, and Veronica mostly hung out with other girls in their group. The day before the girls were going to go home, Allie decided maybe she should be the one to make the first move. The group was rock climbing, and Allie went over to Veronica, since neither of them were climbing now.

"Hey," Allie said.

"Hey," Veronica said.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry that I haven't been very friendly," Allie said. "I was upset about what you and Danielle said about my parents not loving me back when I came to visit in the fall. I should have told you right away."

"You should have," Veronica said. "I forgot about it."

"Kate and her mom apologized," Allie said. "I would have thought she'd tell you."

"I told you, Kate doesn't hang out with us anymore," Veronica said.

"Well, the point is, I'm sorry for how I acted," Allie said. She sat there quietly and Veronica didn't say anything. She figured that wasn't going to go anywhere, so she went back to join the group.

x

At the end of the week, Allie was somewhat happy to go home and see her parents, brothers and other sisters again, but she definitely would miss camp. As she saw Finn and Rachel arriving with Ryan, Sarah, Cory and Lea, she turned to Veronica. "I mean what I said."

Veronica didn't say anything. Allie smiled when she saw her family. "Did you enjoy your first week of camp, Ryan?"

"Yeah, it was so much fun!" Ryan said.

"Good," Allie said. "I do love camp!" She said goodbye to the counselors and to the other girls in her group before leaving with her family to get Emma.

x

"Well, Allie, you said your piece," Finn said. The family was home now, and Allie had told her parents about everything that happened with Veronica at camp that week. Emma, Ryan and Sarah were all in their respective rooms and Finn and Rachel were feeding Cory and Lea, so Allie could talk to them privately now. Besides, there was something else she wanted to talk to them about.

"I know," Allie said. "Mom, Dad?" Allie asked quietly.

"What is it?" Finn asked.

"Can I talk to you guys about something?" Allie asked.

"You always can," Rachel said.

Allie looked at her parents, ready to say what she'd had on her mind for a while. "It gets confusing having you guys and all of them have the last name Hudson and I don't. Beth said they changed hers to Puckerman," she began.

"Are you saying you want to change your last name to Hudson?" Finn asked. Both Finn and Rachel looked surprised.

"Yeah, I am," Allie said. "I really love you guys and my siblings, and I want to legally be a Hudson."

"Wow," Rachel said. "That means so much to me."

"And to me," Finn said. "We will have to go through a legal process to do that. Since we only have rights as your guardians now, we will need to go through an adoption procedure. But we would really love for you to officially be a Hudson."

"Yeah," Allie said. She gave Finn and Rachel each a hug. "Me too."

_Chapter 24 preview: The new school year starts up and Finchel start the adoption procedure._


	24. Chapter 24: Inspections and Budget Cuts

_It's been a while! I'm sorry I haven't updated this story in almost a week :( To be honest I did have a little writer's block, but I'm back :) Thanks so much for all the support. Hope you enjoy this chapter and review if I should keep going!_

Chapter 24: Inspections and Budget Cuts

Rachel heard some cries on the baby monitor and switched it off before Finn could wake up. Today was the first day back at school, so she wanted Finn to be well rested. Since she was on maternity leave for the first quarter, it was easier for her to wake up earlier. She went into Cory's room and saw her son in his crib with his eyes open.

"Hey little guy," Rachel said, picking him up. "It's just going to be you, me and Lea most of the day."

Rachel was taking the first quarter off (other than Gold Star practice, which she'd be going to after school) to spend all her free time with Cory and Lea. During Finn's lunch hour today, a representative from the adoption agency was going to come to inspect their house and talk to Finn and Rachel. Even though they'd been through one background check to become Allie's guardians, the process to officially adopt her would be different. They did want everything to take place while the kids were at school. Since Sarah was in pre-k this year and left after Finn's lunch hour, the best time for them to come by was the lunch hour.

"Are you going to miss your big brother and big sisters today?" Rachel asked Cory as she changed his diaper. "I know I am." She took the put on his clean diaper and changed him into his red and blue striped onesie. Then she carried him into Lea's room. "Looks like someone else is up, too."

Lea gave Rachel and Cory a small smile as Rachel put Cory in Lea's crib and took Lea out to put her on the changing table. She changed Lea's diaper and put her white onesie with the pink flowers on it. "Let's go get ready for breakfast," Rachel said as she scooped up both babies and carried them downstairs. "So, today your big brother and big sisters go back to school," Rachel said. "Next year Sarah's going to be going to school all day five days a week! It's her last year of preschool. Allie's in her last year of elementary school this year. Ryan and Emma are finally going to get to be on the second floor of their school and play on the big playground." At Cambridge, kindergarten, first and second graders were on the first floor, and third, fourth and fifth graders were on the second. There was also one playground for the lower three grades and one for the three older grades.

Rachel put Cory and Lea in their high chairs as she began making breakfast. It was a tradition in the Hudson family for her to make blueberry pancakes on the first day of school. The kids loved that tradition.

"Are our pancakes ready yet?" a voice said. Rachel turned and saw Ryan.

"You're up early," Rachel said, giving her son some pancakes.

"Yeah," Ryan said. "I get to play on the big kids playground this year!"

"Yes you do," Rachel said. "Well, you get to play on it at school. Daddy and I let you play on it when we take you there all the time."

"Yeah, I know," Ryan said, eating his pancakes as Emma and Sarah came into the kitchen.

"I wish I could go to the big kids school this year," Sarah said.

"Sarah, if you went to our school, you'd have to wear a uniform," Emma said. "This is your last year of wearing what you want to school.

"Next year I get to wear a skirt instead of a jumper!" Allie said as she came into the kitchen. "Mom, you made pancakes?"

"I always make blueberry pancakes on the first day of school," Rachel said.

"That's so cool," Allie said. At times, it was easy to forget that Allie hadn't been with them on the first day of school last year. It felt like she'd been with them forever.

Finn came into the kitchen. "So all six of them were up before me?"

"Yup," Rachel said, giving her husband a plate. "Ready for a new group of kids?"

"Yeah," Finn said. "It's hard to believe Allie's going to be at the middle school with me next year."

"This year just started!" Allie giggled.

"That's true," Finn said. "So, you guys all have your bags ready?"

"We packed them last night when you were at the middle school open house," Ryan said.

"Good," Finn said. "Ryan, Emma, are you excited to try out for orchestra this year?"

"Yeah!" Ryan said. "It'll be so much better than the recorders." At the kids' school, second graders played the recorders to prepare for the orchestra. Ryan was hoping to play the drums (like his dad) and Emma was hoping to play the flute.

"I'm sure you'll get in," Rachel said. "Musical talent does run in this family."

"I'm going to be on Broadway when I'm older," Sarah said.

"You sound so much like I did when I was your age," Rachel said. She had been so sure at this point in her life she'd be a Broadway veteran, but she was so happy with what had happened instead.

x

"Hi, everyone," the teacher said. "I'm Mrs. Henderson, your teacher. We're going to have a great fifth grade year."

"Hi," the students said. The first bell of the day had just rung and Allie had taken her seat in her fifth grade classroom. She was happy that both Lindsay and Jessica were in her class again.

Mrs. Henderson had begun to tell the students about what would happen in fifth grade, but one announcement in particular caught Allie's ears. "Due to budget cuts, there unfortunately won't be a student orchestra here at Cambridge this year."

"What?" Allie asked. She couldn't believe what she'd just heard.

"As you may have heard from your parents, the school levy didn't pass last fall," Mrs. Henderson said. "Cuts needed to be made, so from now on, the elementary schools will alternate between having a choir one year and an orchestra the next. This year, Cambridge has a choir. I'm sure this is disappointing for you guys who play instruments, just like it's disappointing for the students who sing at the schools where there's no choir this year. But the middle schools still have the orchestra and the choir, so next year, everyone will be able to do what they love."

Allie didn't know that the levy hadn't passed. She wasn't even sure what a levy was. But no orchestra? Wasn't that too much? She was so excited to play in the orchestra this year. And Ryan and Emma had been excited to try out. This wasn't fair to the kids in the choir at the schools where there was no choir this year either. Couldn't something else had been cut? Like the uniforms? None of the other public elementary schools in the area made the kids wear uniforms.

x

"How are those kids treating you?" Rachel asked Finn as he came in for his lunch hour. The people from the adoption agency would be arriving soon to inspect their house and talk to them.

"They're fine," Finn said, giving Rachel a hug. "Where are our little prince and princess?"

"They just fell asleep," Rachel said. "Hopefully they'll wake up before you have to go to work."

Finn and Rachel heard the doorbell ring and went to the door. It was two associates from the adoption agency. "Hi Finn. Hi Rachel," one of the associates said.

"Hi," Finn and Rachel both said, shaking hands with the associates.

"So, it's like we told you on the phone, we aren't looking for perfect parents, we just want to make sure you're good parents," one of the associates said. "We know you have other children and that Allie's been living with you for a while, but there is a difference between being a guardian and being a parent."

"We know," Finn said. Since the death of Allie's adoptive parents had been so sudden, the background check and interviews for becoming her guardians had been done faster than interviews for adoption would be. They'd been told that this could take months.

"So, you're both employed and you both work with kids," the social worker said. "We talked to your colleagues and with some of your other kids' parents. Your incomes also seem pretty stable."

The associates began looking around the house as Finn and Rachel sat in the living room. They both knew their house was safe, but at the same time, they were nervous. What if they didn't think it was a good place for Allie? (Or even for Ryan, Emma, Sarah, Cory and Lea?)

"I hope no one put any books on baby sacrifice, hot sauce or botulism in our house," Finn whispered to Rachel when the associates were searching upstairs.

"I hope not too," Rachel giggled.

The associates came back downstairs and began looking through the refrigerator, examining the food and taking notes. There were a lot of desserts in the refrigerator. Would they hold that against the family?

"Your house seems safe," one of the associates told the couple. "Now, what time do your kids go to bed?"

"Well, the babies go to bed for the night at about 7, but they take naps throughout the day," Finn said. "I'd say by now they sleep about four to six hours without getting up. Our four year old goes to bed at 7:30 and the three older kids go to bed at 8:30."

"All the kids get up at 7:30 in the morning," Rachel said.

"I see," the associate said. "What did you guys have for dinner last night?"

Finn honestly couldn't remember. Luckily, Rachel did. "Chicken, squash, green beans and corn bread."

"And what did your family do over the summer?" the other associate asked.

"Well, the three older kids went to sleepaway camp, and we visited some out of town relatives..." Finn said. He just hoped they'd find the answers to these questions and the ones that followed acceptable. They wanted Allie to legally be part of the family.

x

"So, how was the first day of school?" Rachel asked at dinner that night. Allie had gone to Lindsay's after school, so she didn't have the chance to tell her parents about her day. The announcement this morning had set the tone.

"Something called a levy didn't pass," Allie groaned. "Cambridge can't have a student orchestra this year because some of the elementary schools have orchestras and some have choirs, so they gave us the choir. I wish we'd gotten the orchestra."

"What's a levy?" Ryan asked.

"A levy's a tax that brings more money to the public schools," Rachel explained. "This spring, the people of our city had to vote on whether not to give more taxes to the public schools, but not enough people voted for it. I didn't know that's what they'd be cutting."

"At the middle schools, kids have to pay to play sports now," Finn said. "I just found out last night. Apparently the school board voted on cuts last week."

"It isn't fair though," Allie said. "How come some of the other schools still have an orchestra and we don't? Wouldn't you guys have been upset if Glee club had been cut when you were in high school?"

"Of course we would have," Finn said. "In fact, the cheerleading coach at our high school really hated the Glee club, and she was always trying to get it cancelled, but we always fought back."

"So you're saying I should protest?" Allie asked. She wasn't sure if that was a good idea. At least when her parents were in high school... well, people probably took teenagers more seriously than they'd take a fifth grader.

"Could they try to vote on the levy again?" Ryan asked.

"We did put it on the ballot for the election in November, but we don't know for sure," Rachel said. "A lot of people in our city don't like the public schools."

"Why not?" Emma asked.

"It's complicated, but your mom and I are very happy with the education you guys are getting there," Finn told the kids.

"Do you think if we try, we could get an orchestra at Cambridge?" Allie asked.

"Try to talk to other kids in the orchestra," Rachel said. "I'm sure you guys could at least get something out of it."

"I guess," Allie sighed. Still, this announcement wasn't making fifth grade get off to a good start.

_Chapter 25 preview: Allie and her friends brainstorm ideas to bring the orchestra back to their school. Other Gleeks make appearances to help with the adoption process._


End file.
